NIH Eyes AI-Compatible EHR Replacement for Clinical Center

The National Institutes of Health is seeking a new artificial intelligence-compatible electronic health record platform that can improve how the institute manages health care data.

The new EHR will replace the Clinical Research Information System in place at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Jon McKeeby, chief information officer of the NIH Clinical Center, said during AFCEA Bethesda’s Health IT Summit that the EHR must be able to create summaries, use predictive models for health care and help users accelerate the use of AI tools. He noted that the anticipated contract for the new EHR will be open to all vendors, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

The CIO said the NIH is working with the Mitre in developing contracting requirements for the new EHR, which will use an integrated model.

Other health agencies are ramping up their EHR rollout in pursuit of health care data enhancements.

In September, Denis McDonough, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the department would restart EHR deployment in the summer after deploying the Oracle-Cerner-based system at five VA sites. According to McDonough, the hiatus allows the VA to address mistakes found with the system and to hear from veterans and clinicians about what they have to say about the EHR platform.