DoD gives glimpse of imminent EHR procurement expectations

The Defense Department somewhat quietly announced that as part of its market research into an electronic health record system (EHRS) it will “host demonstrations” during the week of October 21 — and vendors have until the end of Wednesday October 9 to apply.

Some of the language in the notice, which DoD was careful to explain is neither a solicitation nor an RFP, reveals potential answers to lingering questions about the DoD’s intentions concerning open source, meaningful use, and the Veterans Affairs Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) initiative. To date, the DoD has been relatively ambiguous on each matter.

The notice explains that an incarnation of the Veterans Affairs VistA system might be welcome and that DoD is looking for an EHR capable of providing “a patient-centric, point-of-care system for use by clinicians and clinical staff throughout a patient's lifetime healthcare experience,” suggesting that perhaps with the replacement software DoD might be preparing to join the VA’s Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, aka VLER, at some unspecified point in the future.