Can you imagine doing an EHR rollout with Government oversight? The job is hard under normal circumstances, this places the project in the difficulty level of double black diamond.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rollout is taking a pause to evaluate first site challenges. This is normal operating procedure. Do a site, evaluate, start the optimization of the build and training to address first site shortcomings.

What were some of the challenges?

FTA

Complaints included prescription errors and unsatisfactory patient portal functionality, along with added stress for providers – in addition to, as reported at the hearing, more than 240 patient safety concerns.

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Not all problems are the same. Prescription errors and patient safety concerns are potentially critical errors that have to be addressed before moving on. An unsatisfactory patient portal is a problem at most medical systems across the country. Added stress to providers is a concern, but every EHR rollout causes stress to providers so the question becomes is it undue stress. Are there build deficiencies that can be addressed to reduce the stress.

A pause is good. A stop is likely unwarranted. Political rhetoric is unhelpful.

#healthcare #healthIT #cio #cmio #chime #himss