Sorry VistA, DoD's health record won't be open source

The sole VistA-based bidder on DHMSM is no longer in the running for the $11B contract

The Defense Department's next electronic health record will not be based on the open source architecture that supports the Veterans Affairs Department's EHR. A change to the Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization solicitation narrowed down the field of contractors vying for the $11 billion program – eliminating the only proposed solution built on the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture, or VistA.

A Feb. 19 amendment to the solicitation established a "competitive range" for the DHMSM (pronounced DIM-sum) contract. While the notice does not specify which teams were still being considered for the contract, DoD has notified the offerors that fall within the competitive range that they will continue to compete. It will also consider no new proposals at this time. Matt Hudson, contracting officer for DHMSM said via email that he could provide no details regarding the competitive range decision...