DoD, VA Pick A Vendor For Integrated EHR Project

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are once again trying to get their integrated EHR (iEHR) project off the ground.  Last week, the departments announced that Systems Made Simple, Inc. (SMS) has been a re-compete contract to tackle the convoluted quest to increase interoperability between the two vast legacy systems.

“As a Service-disabled, Veteran-owned Business, we are proud to be part of a project that aims to improve healthcare delivery for our nation’s Veterans and active military members,” said Al Nardslico, president and co-founder of SMS. “The VA and DoD currently run two of the largest healthcare systems in the world, and our team is dedicated to providing the right technology and services that focus on ensuring this integration effort is a success.”

Despite a Congressional thrashing earlier this year and a reshuffling of responsibilities due to long-term failures to come to an agreement about scrapping both departments’ existing systems in favor of a brand new joint EHR, the DoD and VA have decided to proceed individually while engaging SMS to bring the two EHRs closer together. [...]