Defunct Defense-VA Health Record Office Spent Bulk Of Budget On Support Contracts

The now moribund interagency program office charged with developing an integrated electronic health record for the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments spent $1.1 billion during its five year life, with the bulk of that going to support service contracts, based on a Nextgov review of Pentagon reports to Congress and testimony.

The two departments in February ditched efforts to develop the iEHR after costs spiraled to $28 billion and decided to pursue modernization efforts on their own.

The interagency program office, or IPO, sent Congress its latest report, which covered fiscal year 2012, on Oct. 23, 2013, a month after its director, Barclay Butler, left and operations sputtered to a halt. There was no mention of these changes in the report.