PwC US is the latest company to spearhead a bid for the coveted Department of Defense (DoD) Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) contract, which will aim to modernize the DoD's military health system and is worth an estimated $11 billion.
PwC's bid is around "open source," the company says. The global consulting, auditing, and intelligence firm will be teaming with commercial electronic health record (EHR) vendors, Palm Beach, Fl.-based DSS Inc. and Carlsbad, Calif.-based MedSphere, which has created OpenVista, the open source version of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health Information systems. PwC has also added General Dynamics Information Technology, a Falls Church, Va.-based systems integrator that works with government contracts, to the mix. Together, they will pitch the DoD on an open integrated EHR system, which they say would promote ease of integration with existing DoD legacy systems as well as unlimited access to ongoing EHR innovations.
"Given the rapid evolution of today's new health economy, technology driven disruption is inevitable. Our approach fosters continued innovation and adaptability, without the need to be being 'locked in' to one technology," Kelly Barnes, U.S. Health Industries leader, PwC, said in a statement. "As a leader in healthcare consulting, PwC is well positioned to help the DoD modernize the current system, and enable transformation that can result in improved healthcare for their patients."
They become the latest team to join the crowded fray for the DHMSM contract. Other major EHR vendors, such Epic and Allscripts, have already formed teams with consulting and government companies like CSC and IBM. DoD issued the the formal request for proposals (RFP) for the modernization project last week and it is expected to make a decision by next year.
