The Department of Veterans Affairs resumed its Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) deployment in April 2026 after a three-year pause, launching the Oracle-Cerner system at four VA health care systems in Michigan — Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit, and Saginaw. The restart is the first wave of 13 total deployments planned for 2026 under an accelerated schedule. Coverage from Federal News Network and VA EHR Modernization.
The cost trajectory
Contract restructure
VA renegotiated the Oracle Health contract from a 5-year term to five 1-year terms. This allows annual review of EHR modernization progress and renegotiation with Oracle Health as needed. Practical effect: VA can adjust scope, pricing, and deployment pace without breach.
Usability and safety concerns remain
A March 2025 GAO report found:
- Only 13% of VA staff using the modernized system believed it made VA as efficient as possible
- 58% of users believed the new system increased patient safety risks
These concerns drive the restructured contract's flexibility — VA can pause or adjust rollout if clinical outcomes don't improve.
Subcontract opportunities
The restart of VA EHR deployment generates meaningful subcontract activity:
- Clinical change management and training at each rollout site
- Integration with VA-specific systems (VistA interfaces, Blue Button, My HealtheVet)
- Cybersecurity and FedRAMP compliance support
- Data migration and legacy-system decommissioning
- User-experience research and iteration (responding to the 13% efficiency finding)