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

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | November 22, 2013

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.