To authorize an electronic health record modernization program of the Department of Veterans Affairs and increase oversight and accountability of the program to better serve veterans, medical professionals of the Department, and taxpayers, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill overhauls the VA's troubled electronic health record modernization program. It creates a new program management office, establishes an expert advisory subcommittee, and sets performance benchmarks that must be met before any new deployments. The bill also mandates termination of Oracle-Cerner's training contracts and requires extensive reporting on alternatives to the current system.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans benefit from requirements that health IT systems must meet quality and safety standards before deployment, protecting them from patient safety issues experienced at early deployment sites. VA medical professionals benefit from requirements for better training, reduced burnout support, and input through the new advisory subcommittee. Competing IT contractors benefit from the mandated termination of Oracle-Cerner's training contracts and requirements to competitively procure replacement services.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Oracle-Cerner faces significant burdens including mandatory termination of training contracts within 275 days, requirements to provide credits for performance failures, and potential loss of the entire contract if alternatives prove viable. VA leadership and acquisition staff face increased compliance burdens with numerous new reporting requirements, oversight processes, and coordination mandates with DOD.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a permanent EHR modernization program office within the Veterans Health Administration with defined goals for patient safety, staff efficiency, and veteran outcomes
- Prohibits new EHR deployments until existing sites meet or exceed pre-deployment performance levels or national VHA standards
- Mandates termination of Oracle-Cerner training contracts within 275 days and competitive procurement of replacements
- Requires independent verification and validation of major modernization efforts by contractors with no Oracle-Cerner conflicts
- Creates quarterly and annual reporting requirements on system stability, staff satisfaction, costs, and alternatives to the Oracle-Cerner product
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Restructures the Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health record modernization program by establishing new oversight mechanisms, performance requirements, and reporting mandates following problems with the Oracle-Cerner implementation.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Health Information Technology, Government Contracting, Federal Oversight
Primary Purpose
Restructures the Department of Veterans Affairs electronic health record modernization program by establishing new oversight mechanisms, performance requirements, and reporting mandates following problems with the Oracle-Cerner implementation.
Policy Domains
Title I - Program and Governance
Identified Gains
- Veterans
- VA medical professionals
- Health IT consultants
Identified Costs
- VA leadership
Title V - Coordination with Department of Defense
Identified Gains
- Veterans
- VA staff
Identified Costs
- Department of Defense
- VA coordination staff
Title II - Performance Requirements
Identified Gains
- Veterans
- VA medical professionals
- VA training staff
Identified Costs
- Oracle-Cerner
- VA deployment teams
Title IV - Contracting and Oversight
Identified Gains
- Competing IT contractors
- Taxpayers
- Veterans
Identified Costs
- Oracle-Cerner
- VA acquisition staff
Title VI - Legislative and Interoperability Reports
Identified Gains
- Congress
- Health information exchanges
Identified Costs
- VA reporting staff
Title III - Support and Reporting
Identified Gains
- Congress
- Veterans
- VA facility staff
Identified Costs
- VA administration
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Tester (for himself, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Brown) introduced …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congress, Congress and oversight bodies, Department of Defense IT offices
Positive-direction: Congress, Congress and oversight bodies, VA training and change management staff
Negative-direction: Department of Defense IT offices, VA Deputy Secretary and deployment teams, VA Deputy Secretary office, VA Office of Acquisition staff, VA Office of Information and Technology, VA Secretary office, VA Under Secretary for Health, VA acquisition and program management staff, VA acquisition staff, VA and DOD coordination staff, VA deployment teams, VA leadership, VA reporting and compliance staff, Veterans Health Administration leadership
Competing EHR vendors (Epic, MEDITECH, etc.), Health information exchanges and interoperability vendors, Oracle-Cerner
Positive-direction: Competing EHR vendors (Epic, MEDITECH, etc.), Health information exchanges and interoperability vendors
Negative-direction: Oracle-Cerner, Oracle-Cerner and EHR contractors
Veterans and VA staff, Veterans at facilities not yet deployed, Veterans receiving VA healthcare
Competing health IT training providers, Contractors with Oracle-Cerner relationships, Defense acquisition oversight contractors
Positive-direction: Competing health IT training providers, Defense acquisition oversight contractors, Health IT consultants and executives from private/nonprofit sector
Negative-direction: Contractors with Oracle-Cerner relationships
VA facility staff and leadership, VA medical professionals
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_under_secretary"
- → Under Secretary for Health
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_under_secretary"
- → Under Secretary for Health
- "the_deputy_secretary"
- → Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_chief_acquisition_officer"
- → Chief Acquisition Officer of the VA
- "the_deputy_secretary"
- → Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_secretary_of_defense"
- → Secretary of Defense
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- "the_under_secretary_for_health"
- → Under Secretary for Health
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Committee on Veterans Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives
Any electronic health record provided for the Department on or after the date of enactment, including pursuant to a contract
The Department of Veterans Affairs
To replace, in whole or in part, overhaul, or upgrade the electronic health record or other system in a manner that gives it longevity and ability to constantly be updated
The product provided under the contract entered into by the Department with Cerner pursuant to the electronic health record modernization program before the date of enactment
The mission of the Department to improve the preparedness of the United States for response to war, terrorism, national emergency, and natural disaster
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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