PwC to Propose Open Source EHR System to the Department of Defense

PwC bid proposes an IT transformation to help improve quality and efficiency of healthcare for U.S. military families and veterans

WASHINGTON, DC – September 5, 2014 – PwC US today announced its intent to pursue the Department of Defense (D0D) Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) contract.  The DHMSM program would replace and modernize the Military Health System (MHS) which currently supports more than 9.7 million beneficiaries, including active duty, retirees and their dependents.

Leveraging investments already made by the government into the Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) by merging open source software with commercial applications, PwC plans to combine its healthcare operational and transformation capabilities with commercial EHR vendors DSS, Inc. and MedSphere, and systems integrator General Dynamics Information Technology to offer an EHR, which is currently serving patients and clinicians in more than 2,300 locations globally.

“Providing high quality healthcare to U.S. military families and veterans relies on secure access to patient records from any location or device,” said Scott McIntyre, U.S. Public Sector leader, PwC.  “An interoperable healthcare IT management system that leverages existing investments not only creates efficiency and significant cost savings, it promotes better health outcomes for active duty military, veterans, and their families.”

PwC’s team is proposing an “Open Architecture” based integrated electronic health record which promotes greater ease of integration with existing DoD legacy systems as well as unlimited access to ongoing EHR innovations. PwC selected its proposed solution based on an extensive technical analysis using the DoD’s unique government EHR requirements and the MHS’ patient safety and quality standards.

“Given the rapid evolution of today’s new health economy, technology driven disruption is inevitable.  Our approach fosters continued innovation and adaptability, without the need to be being ‘locked in’ to one technology,” said Kelly Barnes, U.S. Health Industries leader, PwC.  “As a leader in healthcare consulting, PwC is well positioned to help the DoD modernize the current system, and enable transformation that can result in improved healthcare for their patients.”

PwC’s depth of consulting experience in clinical care transformations, health information technology (including EHR/EMR), and healthcare operations consulting coupled with both the DSS/MedSphere EHR platform would support the DoD’s need to quickly transmit patient data and information across federal healthcare systems and private physician platforms.  This interoperable open source platform would capture health data across a patient’s entire health interaction while making the information easily accessible and usable to clinicians.

With deep healthcare industry insights across both public and private sectors and broad capabilities in transformation and systems integration from strategy through execution, PwC is a recognized leader in healthcare IT and strategy consulting.

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