NASA looking for new electronic health record system to support astronauts

NASA is researching options to replace an existing electronic health record system that supports some unique patients: astronauts.

In a request for information, the agency said it’s looking to replace a system that currently holds roughly 30,000 records for NASA employees that date back to the founding of the U.S. Space Program. The request, which is purely information-seeking and may be used to finalize a request for quotes, was initially posted in November and responses were due Friday.

While that current system, which is installed primarily at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, is understood well and configured for the agency’s current workflows, it’s limited in its “patched together work arounds,” “manual processes and procedures,” and “single points of failure in both system and human terms,” NASA said in response to questions on the request posted to SAM.gov Thursday. 

The agency also pointed to the lack of an integrated patient portal and challenges with the user interface as drawbacks.

A new system, the agency said, could lead to improvements such as automation of process, procedure, and workflow; better data management; “robust connectivity to and from NASA systems external to the EHR that are involved in astronaut care;” and an environment that’s “simpler” and “leaner.”

The Human Health & Performance Directorate uses the existing EHR as one of the products that supports its “operational decision-making,” according to the request. That directorate is the component within NASA focused on “health and productivity of humans during all phases of spaceflight,” including flight- and ground-based healthcare, research, and test subject screening.

Among the unique attributes of the system: NASA said it doesn’t bill or allow self-scheduling, and while they do collect insurance information, they don’t file claims. The system also relies heavily on custom reporting for data fields such as flight and dive qualifications and the requirements needed to maintain certification. 

Unique services of that system include “support for reacclimating astronauts physically, psychologically, and operationally when they return from microgravity” and “workflows to obtain data from astronauts in flight to support medical monitoring by physicians on the ground,” NASA said.

Some things work well with the current system. NASA noted the existing EHR has “limited cloud-based test environments and connectivity” in addition to backup facilities in White Sands, New Mexico. And, according to the request, that “configuration is stable, well-understood, expandable, secure, and highly functional.”

Per the documents, the current EHR is commercial-off-the-shelf and the replacement would also be commercial-off-the-shelf. Implementation of the new software would need to be completed no later than July of 2026.