The space agency wants to replace its old EHR with a new commercial-off-the-shelf system.

The new Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed & InteGrated Medical care, or PARADIGM, sets out to develop a “rugged electric vehicle platform” to access rural communities.

The VA has faced multiple delays to the $16B Oracle Cerner EHR rollout due to major patient safety risks.

The Justice Department alleged NextGen Healthcare used an "auxiliary product" to obtain certification and gave incentive credits to users who recommended the system.

The VA says a renegotiated contract “dramatically increases” its ability to hold the technology company to account for the system’s performance.

The bill would require the VA to ensure its five existing EHR sites meet or exceed performance baselines before taking the system live at any additional locations.

Contracting specialists say creating a chief management officer position at the Department of Veterans Affairs may not solve issues with the EHR program.

The technology company will research how machine learning and natural language processing can fill gaps in medical data collection. 

VA Chief Acquisition Officer Michael Parrish earlier this week said his agency is working to add new enforcement mechanisms to the contract.

Congressional staff have been informed of four deaths related to a feature of the EHR modernization program.