A top Cerner official said "we’re well-positioned to soon kick off the next phase of deployment across military medical facilities in California and Idaho."

A new joint letter reinforces "both departments’ commitment to ensuring the successful transition from a legacy patient-data system to a modernized one that will continue to support active-duty service members, Veterans and their families."

The agency plans to begin accepting bids for a five-year contract to manage the IT and data services of its VistA system.

The secretary of Veterans Affairs said “from here on out, DOD and VA will be joined from the hip" on EHR implementation.

The agency added another $1.1 billion to its ongoing $4.3 billion contract.

It says the system "does not demonstrate enough workable functionality to manage and document patient care" and has "poor system usability, insufficient training, and inadequate help desk support."