VA picks Systems Made Simple to head new scheduling system

Systems Made Simple has been picked by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to create its new scheduling system. The Lockheed Martin-owned company will be responsible for the VA's Medical Appointment Scheduling System (MASS), which is "one component of the department's strategy to provide state of the art electronic health record, scheduling, workflow management, and analytics capabilities to front line caregivers serving veterans," according to an announcement.

MASS will make viewing and making appointments easier and simpler for vets and will also enhance appointment reminders and coordination of care, the VA adds. The scheduling system should be deployed by 2017, FierceHealthIT previously reported. The SMS contract is for 60 months from the day it was awarded with the option for two, 12-month extensions. The total contract value, according to the VA announcement, is $623,582,928.88...