Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1179082
56 CIO / HEALTH IT VA confirms delays for Cerner EHR rollout, scheduling tool By Jackie Drees D epartment of Veterans Affairs announced it will push back its Cerner EHR rollout in the Pacif- ic Northwest, according to Politco's Morning eHealth Sept. 27 newsletter. e Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., is scheduled to deploy the new EHR system in March 2020. However, the go lives at VA hospitals in Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., will be delayed until Octo- ber next year, according to the report. VA entered into a $16 billion agreement with Cerner in 2018 to develop and deploy a new EHR system across its care network. In September, the VA unveiled its new training program, which was created to support the department's EHR modernization efforts and Cerner system implementation. VA is also delaying the rollout of its Cerner-developed appointment scheduling tool, which was initially sched- uled to deploy across all VA medical facilities by 2023, according to FedScoop. e new anticipated launch date is scheduled for 2025, and the delay is not expected to add any additional cost to the project, said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., chairwoman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, the pub- lication reported. In 2015, VA signed a $624-million deal with Epic to use its scheduling soware. e department subsequent- ly scrapped the scheduling soware contract with Epic aer hiring Cerner to overhaul its EHR system, opting to use Cerner's scheduling tool instead. VA's decision to delay its Cerner scheduling tool rollout was reached aer the department performed a deeper analysis of the timeline, said John Windom, executive director of VA's EHR modernization office, according to FedScoop. "e three-year deployment track was a number drawn without all of the comprehensive research necessary to develop an integrated schedule," Mr. Windom said. "Five years is more appropriate…We are mitigating risk in the best interest of our veterans and we think we have a prospective timeline that does that and delivers the respective capabilities." n CHIME unveils 2019 'Most Wired' hospitals list By Jackie Drees T he College of Healthcare Information Management Execu- tives released the names of the hospitals included in its 2019 CHIME HealthCare's Most Wired program. A total of 16,138 organizations were represented in this year's Most Wired program, which included three separate surveys: domestic, ambulatory and international. The surveys examined the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in healthcare organizations at all stages. Based on their survey responses, each participating organization received an overall score plus scores for individual levels in infor- mation technology capabilities including infrastructure, disaster recovery, security and interoperability. Participating organizations that earned Levels 8-10 designation were honored with awards and those earning Level 7 received special designation. This is CHIME's second year administering the Most Wired survey, which the group acquired from the American Hospital Association in 2017. n Mayo Clinic taps Google for analytics, innovation, cloud computing By Andrea Park M ayo Clinic announced a 10-year strategic partnership with Google, which will provide the Rochester, Minn.-based health system with technological support to advance dig- ital healthcare innovation. Through the partnership, Mayo Clinic will utilize advanced cloud computing, data analytics and storage, machine learning and arti- ficial intelligence technologies to expand its virtual care, data-driv- en research and precision health initiatives. These solutions will come from the combination of Mayo Clinic's clinical expertise with Google's IT and data security abilities, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement. Gianrico Farrugia, MD, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, noted that the partnership "will empower us to solve some of the most complex medical problems; better anticipate the needs of people we serve; and meet them when, where and how they need us. We will share our knowledge and expertise globally while caring for people locally and always do it with a human touch." n