California-based EHR developer CliniComp has offered to settle its lawsuit against the government if the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will agree to have a technology professional assess the company’s platform to determine if the tech is cheaper, faster and better than Cerner.
“CliniComp is only asking for an opportunity to prove that its commercial product can save billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money and can achieve what the VA is seeking but in significantly less time,” according to the settlement offer.
“In essence, let’s have this matter resolved by skilled information technology professionals who work for the government,” it continued. “The government has never allowed CliniComp to demonstrate that its commercial product has such capability.”
[Also: Judge dismisses CliniComp lawsuit against VA-Cerner deal]
As the company is currently involved with EHR contracts for 56 Department of Defense facilities and 44 VA facilities, the company asserts that it has insight into what is required to obtain seamless interoperability between the government agencies.
In fact, CliniComp is so confident in the capability of its product, it’s offering a no-cost contract to the VA that “will provide CliniComp with a bona fide opportunity to demonstrate to the VA, using its own funds that its advanced technology can achieve a high level of interoperability between the VA and DoD EHRs.”
[Also: EHR vendor CliniComp sues government over no-bid VA contract with Cerner]
If the VA agrees, the agency can engage the GSA’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center to run a benchmark test to determine if CliniComp’s existing EHR software “meets or exceeds the level of interoperability as baselined in the DoD and VA Joint Interoperability Certifications to Congress.”
CliniComp filed suit against the government in August for awarding Cerner the VA EHR contract without a standard competition process, which the company said lacked reasonable basis and called the decision to pick Cerner “arbitrary.”
[Also: Cerner sued for $16 million over revenue cycle rollout]
A judge dismissed the case in October, based on jurisdiction. But recently unsealed documents written by U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby, who dismissed the case, found that CliniComp wouldn’t have been a competitor for the VA contract, as the company doesn’t have experience performing a government contract of a comparable value.
VA Secretary Shulkin said the agency plans to replicate the DoD’s Cerner EHR to create a common system that will be implemented over the next decade in 48 phases.
While the matter seemed settled with the case dismissal, CliniComp said it’s determined to continue to fight for an opportunity to demonstrate its product is capable of handling the VA’s EHR replacement.
Twitter: @JessieFDavis
Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com