$10B Deal To Overhaul VA’s Digital Health Records Signed Despite Warnings It Could Prove To Be Boondoggle

The Associated Press: Gov't Approves $10B Deal To Overhaul VA Medical Records
The government approved a $10 billion deal Thursday to overhaul the electronic health records of millions of veterans, part of a bid to improve wait times and expand access to doctors outside the Veterans Affairs system. The aim of the contract with Cerner Corp. is to provide veterans easy access to their health records upon leaving active-duty service and when they receive medical treatment at a VA facility or a private doctor referred under the VA's Choice private-sector program. (Yen, 5/17)

Politico: VA Joins Military In Fraught Multibillion-Dollar Health IT Contract
Former VA Secretary David Shulkin announced his intention to sign the single-source contract last June after consultation with Jared Kushner, but then revealed in December that he had put it on hold as the implementation of a related Pentagon contract experienced grave difficulties, including critical safety concerns at four Pacific Northwest treatment centers. Kushner and others argued the best way to assure seamless health care records was for both the VA and DoD to use the same technology. Others pointed out that since the majority of vets leave the military system after retiring, most of the data sharing would take place between the VA and private doctors and hospitals where 70 percent of veterans’ care takes place. Many of the big academic health centers that treat veterans use Cerner’s biggest competitor, Epic. (Allen, 5/17)

KCUR: VA Reaches 10-Year, $10 Billion Deal With Cerner To Upgrade Its Health Record System
“This is one of the largest IT contracts in the federal government, with a ceiling of $10 billion over 10 years,” [Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert] Wilkie said in a statement. “And with a contract of that size, you can understand why former Secretary Shulkin and I took some extra time to do our due diligence and make sure the contract does what the President wanted.” Wilkie said Congress has already appropriated $782 million for the contract. (Margolies, 5/17)

Modern Healthcare: VA And Cerner Reach Agreement On EHR 
The VA announced nearly a year ago that it would switch to Cerner from its homegrown VistA system. But disagreements about interoperability and alleged meddling by President Donald Trump's unofficial advisors kept the contract in limbo for months. (Arndt, 5/17)

In other news —

The New York Times: Veterans Go Back To Court Over Burn Pits. Do They Have A Chance?
On May 9, a federal appeals court heard oral arguments in a case about an explosive issue among U.S. veterans: the widespread use of burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the potential health consequences they suffered as a result. The case, which dates back to 2008, consolidated dozens of lawsuits by hundreds of veterans and their families seeking to recover damages from the military contractor KBR Inc., but a trial court dismissed it in July 2017. It could be at a legal dead end unless the panel of judges, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overturns the dismissal. (Harp, 5/17)

NPR: Army Takes Steps To Protect A Shooter's Brain From The Weapon's Blast
For the first time, the U.S. military is speaking publicly about what it's doing to address potential health risks to troops who operate certain powerful shoulder-mounted weapons. These bazooka-like weapons produce forceful explosions just inches from the operator's head. Though several scientific reports over the past year have noted the possible risk, until now military officials have been reluctant to speak publicly about whether repeated exposure to these blasts might result in injury to a shooter's brain. (Hamilton, 5/17)

Politico: Trump Donates First-Quarter 2018 Salary To VA
President Donald Trump will donate his salary for the first quarter of 2018 to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the White House announced Thursday. Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said at a press briefing that the money would go toward caregiver support programs, including mental health, peer support, research, education, training and financial aid. (Okun, 5/17)