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GAO calls for delay in implementing Cerner’s $16B EHR System for Department of Veterans Affairs

The federal agency has been urged to put a hold on the rollout of a Cerner EHR system following recommendation from the Government Accountability Office. Although the new system began going live in October 2020, the GAO said more tests should be conducted before deployment continues.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Department of Veterans Affairs pause the implementation of its $16 billion Cerner EHR system to perform “critical” tests before deploying the system at any additional facilities. 

The VA went live with the new EHR on Oct. 24 at a VA Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., without any major reported issues.

However, as the rollout continues, the VA’s new system could lose strength, according to a February 2021 GAO report, prompting it to recommend the VA “postpone deployment of its new EHR system at planned locations until any resulting critical and high severity test findings are appropriately addressed.”

The VA reportedly doesn’t intend to stop the rollout, which is scheduled to deploy next at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

“[VA] does not plan to stop the launch of [its] new electronic health record system,” the department said. “VA appreciates the opportunity to review the recent GAO report regarding the progress of VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization program and the disposition of test findings in relation to subsequent deployments.”

If VA doesn’t properly test and evaluate the EHR system before rolling it out at new locations, the system may not operate the way it was intended, the GAO report said.

The VA has said its current rate of testing and risk mitigation strategy is adequate for the project.