DoD EHR Contract: Open Source Vs. Commercial

Pricewaterhouse Coopers and partner firms urge Department of Defense to consider open source VistA for EHR contract, vying against IBM/Epic and other commercial contenders.

Like a spurned but stubborn lover, the open source VistA electronic health records system will try once more to win the affection of the Department of Defense. Or, rather, a coalition of firms led by PwC have cast themselves in the role of matchmaker, trying to get the two together.

On Friday, PwC US formally submitted its bid as lead integrator in partnership with firms that have created commercial implementations of VistA -- DSS, Inc. and Medsphere Systems Corporation, Medicasoft -- with additional backing from General Dynamics Information Technology.

Even as military leaders are signaling their desire for a commercial EHR, PwC will argue that a commercial implementation of the government's own open source is the best answer. "It's designed for this market, and it's a better fit than anything else that's commercially available," Dan Garrett, leader of PwC’s health care IT practice, said in an interview...