VA Seeks Open-Source IT Infrastructure in Departure from Typical Proprietary Government Software

VA’s information technology infrastructure, as well as the joint electronic health record that is being planned between VA and DoD, will be primarily based on open-source software, officials revealed last month.

Open-source software permits users to study, change, and improve it, and is frequently developed collaboratively, as opposed to proprietary software, which is strictly licensed and forbids modification.

According to VA officials, open-source is the best way to ensure that VA’s electronic health record (EHR) system will adapt and improve at a pace with the private sector. However, this sweeping change in VA’s IT infrastructure has raised concerns about the agency’s ability to not only accomplish such a large task, but to do so while keeping veterans’ information secure.