Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA)

See the following -

Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) moving forward with 'Open Source' provisions

Jason Miller | Federal News Radio | March 21, 2013

The first major rewrite of the laws that govern how federal agencies oversee and manage information technology [IT] is one step closer to becoming law...The bill calls on OMB to issue guidance that focuses on open source in several ways...[Issa] added that building on open source when possible opens the door to more vendors who innovate and offer new technologies...

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Outdated IT Contracting Rules Added To HealthCare.gov Woes?

Grant Gross | Computerworld | December 13, 2013

Critics of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' botched deployment of HealthCare.gov can point to a series of management mistakes, but many observers point to a more systematic problem with government IT contracts. Read More »

VA and VistA: Can they be fixed?

Aisha Chowdhry | FCW | July 27, 2016

pivoting away from VistA, the agency's homegrown electronic health record system, would be a major shift for the VA. Former VA CIO Roger Baker said VistA is the only EHR designed by doctors, not technologists. "That is the real power of VistA, and it remains the real power of VistA," he added. The system, rooted in 1970s code, is designed to assist doctors in their daily work. Providers at the various VA medical facilities nationwide customize it for their specific needs.

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