The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to resume its $16 billion Cerner EHR go-live in October after delays earlier this year, according to an Aug. 6 Politico report.
The greenlight comes after private discussion with Congress in July, multiple sources told the publication.
The VA in February confirmed plans to delay the rollout at its Spokane, Wash.-based Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center until at least the end of April because it needed more time to build the system. The department again delayed the go-live in April to focus on deploying staff for its COVID-19 pandemic response.
A VA spokesperson told Politico the department does not have any scheduling announcements to make. The updated implementation schedule will focus on VA facilities in smaller cities in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest rather than following previous plans to deploy in big metropolitan areas, according to multiple congressional sources.
The VA attributed the shift in the rollout focus to the pandemic and said that health providers helping to develop and customize EHRs have not had enough time and "Cerner has not had access to the clinicians required," according to the report.
“VA has a path forward to complete the development of the extended capabilities, which remains dependent on clinician availability in response to COVID-19,” the spokesperson said.
Click here to view a timeline of VA's and Cerner's EHR project developments this year.