Having Already Failed Once, DoD Snubs Open Source For Second EMR Try

In theory, the VA now has everything it needs to standardize and upgrade the open source VistA EMR, especially after forming the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) organization.  But when it comes to bringing that expertise to the DoD’s EMR projects, it seems OSEHRA alone can’t do the trick.  Sadly, it’s no surprise to find this out, as the DoD has an abysmal track record on this subject.

OSEHRA, an independent non-profit open source group, was launched about a year ago. The group is working away at improving compatibility between versions of VistA at the 152 VA medical centers.  According to an InformationWeek piece, there’s now about 120 different versions of VistA ticking away within the VA system.  OSEHRA hopes to create a common core — a “minimum baseline standard”  for 20 VistA modules — which will make it easier for the medical centers to deploy enterprise-wide apps.

The DoD, meanwhile, is hacking away at a joint system with the VA, called iEHR, which is due for initial testing in 2014.  A few months ago, DoD told Congress that while open source technology will be part of iEHR, the agency will also include commercial and custom applications, using a service-oriented architecture.

What that means, in practical terms, is that OSEHRA will be cooling its heels waiting for DoD contractor Harris Corp. to build an Enterprise Service Bus and open source APIs to allow for open source development on the project.

Now, that wouldn’t raise my suspicions so much if DoD hadn’t proven to be a collosal failure at developing an EMR.  Did anyone else here catch the major slap GAO delivered to DoD a couple of years ago, noting that its 13-year, $2 billion AHLTA application was a near-complete fizzle?  If anyone at DoD had humility, or if their bosses were held accountable for AHLTA’s staggering losses, nobody would let them drive the technical choices on this project.

Am I the only one who sees a recipe for billions more in DoD losses here?

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

3 Comments

  • 120 versions of VistA? Wow! That takes a lot of effort, to create such a huge mess. Does anyone know how or why this happened?

    I’d be curious to hear what people think of VistA. It is not what you would call ‘glossy’, but it does seem very easy to use and fairly complete.

  • >> “..waiting for DoD contractor Harris Corp. to build an Enterprise Service Bus”

    With all of the mature ESB’s that exist out there, both open source and commercial?

    It’s outrageous that someone would authorize spending public money to re-invent that wheel.

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