The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has extended its partnership with Oracle Health, awarding the second option period for the Federal electronic health record (EHR) modernisation contract.  

The 11-month option is a direct continuation of the VA's efforts to improve Federal EHR system for veterans.  

It supports the six VA healthcare facilities currently using the Federal EHR and helps to prepare for potential pre-deployment and deployment activities at new sites in fiscal year 2025, contingent upon meeting reset goals. 

The awarding of the second contract option comes as Oracle Health contract's initial first option year approached its expiration on 16 May 2024.  

The Department of VA initiated a one-month extension to facilitate negotiations, aimed at ensuring the success of the programme for VA providers and veterans. 

According to the VA, negotiations for the second option period have been centred on two primary objectives, including the enhancement of value-added services, such as system improvements and optimisations. 

The second objective is to achieve better predictability in hosting, deployment, and sustainment costs in line with the VA's reset efforts. 

These goals are crucial for the planned resumption of site deployments in fiscal year 2025. 

In the previous year, the VA restructured its contract with Oracle Health from a five-year agreement to five one-year terms.  

This change permits an annual review of the Federal EHR's progress and, if necessary, a renegotiation with Oracle Health.  

The revised contract structure has significantly improved accountability, focusing on addressing clinician requests, reducing incidents and outages, and advancing interoperability with other applications and healthcare systems to deliver an integrated healthcare experience for veterans. 

The Federal EHR is being deployed to replace the current Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), streamlining documentation and support across all VA healthcare facilities. 

VA deputy secretary Tanya Bradsher said: “This announcement is a testament to teh VA’s commitment to keeping the best interests of veterans, VA providers, and taxpayers at forefront while maximising resources in a fiscally restrained environment. 

“Executing the second option period of contract allows VA and Oracle Health to continue to drive forward on goals of reset and future deployments.”