Becker's Hospital Review

60 CIO / HEALTH IT GAO urges VA to pause $16B Cerner EHR rollout, citing need for 'critical tests' By Jackie Drees T he Government Accountability Office is rec- ommending the Department of Veterans Af- fairs pause the implementation of its $16 billion Cerner EHR system to perform "critical" tests before deploying the system at any additional facilities. e VA went live on the EHR Oct. 24 at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., without any major reported issues. However, as the rollout continues, the VA's new system could lose strength, according to a February 2021 GAO report, prompting it to recommend the VA "postpone deploy- ment of its new EHR system at planned locations until any resulting critical and high severity test findings are appropriately addressed." e VA responded to the GAO's report by "con- curring in principle," but told FedScoop in a Feb. 11 report that it doesn't intend to stop the rollout, which is scheduled to deploy next at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle in the fourth quarter of 2021. "[e VA] does not plan to stop the launch of [its] new electronic health record system," the depart- ment said. "VA appreciates the opportunity to re- view the recent GAO report regarding the progress of VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization pro- gram and the disposition of test findings in relation to subsequent deployments." If the VA doesn't properly test and evaluate the EHR system before rolling it out at new locations, the system may not operate the way it was intended, the GAO re- port said. However, the VA said its current rate of testing and risk mitigation strategy is adequate for the project. e VA has faced previous delays with the rollout due to both issues with system performance and need for more testing as well as needing to pivot focus to its re- sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic. e VA said it is "well-positioned" to keep moving for- ward with the rollout and is "taking every precaution to deliver a safe and effective system for [its] clinicians and users." Cerner declined Becker's comment request for the re- port and directed questions to the VA, which had no further comment. n Hackers publish thousands of patient records from Florida, Texas hospitals online By Jackie Drees H ackers posted thousands of files containing protected health information of patients at Leon Medical Centers and Noco- na General Hospital to the dark web, according to a Feb. 5 NBC News report. Hackers published the files, which amount to at least tens of thou- sands, to a blog on the dark web and exposed patient information including names, addresses, birthdates and medical diagnoses. The files from Doral, Fla.-based Leon Medical Centers and Nocona (Texas) General Hospital also included thousands of scanned diag- nostic results and letters to insurers, according to the report. In Janu- ary, Leon Medical Centers disclosed its computer systems had been infected with malware in November 2020; hackers were able to ac- cess patients' PHI as a result of the incident. In an emailed statement to NBC News, a Leon Medical Centers spokes- person said, "We are working diligently with third-party forensic ex- perts to complete an investigation into the matter. As soon as possible, we will provide direct notifications to any affected individuals." Nocona General Hospital's computer systems do not appear to have been affected by ransomware, the hospital's attorney, Brian Jackson, told the network. "I can't tell you with absolute certainty that they did not send a ran- som demand," he said. "I can tell you we did not open one." n Sutter to cut 277 jobs, mostly in IT By Ayla Ellison S acramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is laying off hundreds of employees, most of whom work in information technology, ac- cording to a Feb. 11 report in the Sacramento Business Journal. In a filing with the state, Sutter said it plans to lay off 277 employees April 2. The Sacramento Bee reported in January that the system was targeting about 200 job cuts. The 277 jobs being eliminated include 92 analysts, 43 engineers and 28 project managers, according to the Sacramento Business Journal, citing the system's filing with California's Employment De- velopment Department. The layoffs are expected to be permanent, but Sutter said approximately 60 employees could be redeployed to different positions. "All these efforts are aimed at prioritizing direct patient care while mitigating the financial impacts of the pandemic, so we can contin- ue to serve our communities for years to come," Sutter Senior Vice President and Chief People and Culture Officer Jill Ragsdale wrote in the letter to the California's Employment Development Department, according to the report. n

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