The US Department of Veterans Affairs announced in a House Committee hearing on June 26 that its Cerner overhaul will be fully functional at three test sites in Seattle, Spokane and American Lake, WA by March of 2020.

This is the first major announcement in what will be a $15.8 billion project over the next decade.

“The scale is daunting and the ambition is impressive. That is evident,” said Committee Chairman Rep. Phil Roe, MD. “I am interested in the benefit, at the end of the 10 years, to the veteran and the clinician. The lifetime health record has to be worth the potential disruption. The ease of use and the new analytics in the EHR have to be worth the learning curve.”

Analysis and reporting from Becker’s Hospital Review available here.