On Tuesday, officials from the Tennessee Department of Health presented Gov. Bill Haslam (R) with a budget request that, if granted, would allow the agency to convert its current computer system to one used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Tennessean reports.
About the Current System
John Dreyzehner, the state health commissioner, said the department’s current Patient Tracking Billing Management System is more than 20 years old and is neither efficient nor effective.
He said the system is limited in what it can do, adding that it cannot create or maintain electronic health records that can be shared among local health agencies.
Details of the VA System
Tennessee health officials would like to replace the department’s old computer system with an open-source, non-proprietary system that VA developed.
Dreyzehner said that VA’s computer system has been praised for efficiently keeping track of more than eight million patients.
Costs Associated With the Conversion
Converting to VA’s system would take several years and cost nearly $9 million in the first year, according to the Tennessean.
The budget request would cover the hiring of 27 state workers to implement and manage the new system (Marsteller, Tennessean, 11/6).
