The Veterans Affairs Department will implement the same electronic health records platform as the Defense Department, according to an announcement today from Secretary David Shulkin.

In a press release, Shulkin said he took the unique step of signing a “determination of findings” in order to issue a solicitation directly to Cerner Corp., which—together with Leidos in a $4 billion contract—is developing DOD’s MHS Genesis platform.

“Because of the urgency and the critical nature of this decision, I have decided that there is a public interest exception to the requirement for full and open competition in this technology acquisition,” Shulkin said in a statement.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/health/2017/06/veterans-affairs-adopt-same-commercial-health-records-platform-dod/138398