Leidos Team Touts Interoperability In Military EHR Bid

Time is running out for vendors to submit bids on the planned $11 billion, 10-year contract to deliver an electronic health records system to the Defense Department. The DOD Healthcare Management System Modernization (DHMSM -- pronounced "dim sum") is an ambitious plan to transform the delivery of care to the 9.6 million active-duty service members, their dependents, retirees and others.  

The plan is also designed to leapfrog DOD to a next-generation EHR capability by offering interoperability with private-sector systems and those at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Indeed, the DHMSM procurement for a commercial system was set in motion only after a grander plan to build a unified DOD/VA system was scrapped in 2013.  As Chris Miller, the program executive officer leading the acquisition, said, "We are not just buying an off-the-shelf system. We're really looking to modernize how the department delivers health care."

Early in the process, DOD officials urged EHR providers to team up with IT service providers and experienced integrators. IBM and EHR giant Epic were the first to announce a planned bid, back in June. Computer Sciences Corp., Hewlett-Packard and EHR firm Allscripts are also expected to go after the contract. PricewaterhouseCoopers, General Dynamics, DSS and Medsphere -- a team with a product based on VA's VistA EHR system -- were the most recent companies to enter the field.  Because DHMSM proposes to transform health care delivery, it's hard to speak of an incumbent player...