What About That iEHR Decision?

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is a real busy guy, and you really don’t want to impose a deadline on him.

But, he did tell a hearing of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on April 16 that he would make a decision within 30 days on the plan for the integrated electronic health record, or iEHR, to be developed with the Veterans Affairs Department.

I can count, and that 30 days came and went last week. No decision yet, due in part, I hear, to conflicts over the basic approach to take -- adopt the VA’s Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) or go the commercial route favored by the Pentagon?

Either way, this is a big deal with billions of dollars at stake so I understand the delay. Will Congress have the same understanding?