Southwest Montana News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Chairman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) led the House Veterans' Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Technology Modernization hearing titled: “Report Card: Assessing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Modernization at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center.”

“Oracle Cerner EHR pharmacy software functions so poorly that permanent VA pharmacy staff cannot efficiently or accurately process veterans’ prescriptions,” said Rep. Rosendale. “I have serious concerns that the VA is putting the veterans it cares for in a dangerous situation by continuing the large-scale implementation of this unreliable system. The Oracle Cerner EHR is simply not dependable enough to guarantee bare minimum effectiveness and its rushed implementation will spell disaster for vets.”

Key Background:

On June 7, 2024, Chairman Rosendale highlighted the failure of Oracle Cerner’s unreliable Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems at VA medical centers, as mentioned by Bloomberg’s Brody Ford.

On May 15, 2024, Chairman Rosendale again sounded the alarm on Oracle Cerner focusing more on buying off politicians than providing quality software for VA medical centers.

On February 15, 2024, Chairman Rosendale held a hearing for the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, exposing the corruption by Oracle Cerner and their attempt to lobby politicians instead of fixing their software.

On November 15, 2023, Chairman Rosendale hosted a Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing titled “Electronic Health Record Modernization Deep Dive: System Uptime.”

On April 21, 2023, the VA extended its pause implementing the Oracle Cerner electronic health record (EHR) at additional VA medical centers as a result of Chairman Rosendale’s nonstop efforts on this issue.

On March 7, 2023, Chairman Rosendale hosted a Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing titled “Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture.”

On January 31, 2023, Chairman Rosendale introduced the VA Electronic Health Record Modernization Termination Act which would:

- Gradually wind down the Oracle Cerner contract by preventing the Secretary from exercising any options on Oracle Cerner’s contract.

- Abolish the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office.

- Transfer remaining activities to the Veterans Health Administration or Office of Information and Technology.

- Revert all medical centers using the Oracle Cerner EHR to VA’s existing EHR platform: the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture.