Oracle’s Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) service suffered a nationwide systems failure on Tuesday, it has emerged, disrupting multiple US government agencies. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) confirmed the outage to CNBC. The outage impacted medical facilities operated by the VA, the US Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, limiting access to patient records and clinical tools.
The VA reported that six of its medical centres, along with 26 associated community clinics and various remote healthcare sites, were affected. Contingency protocols were activated at impacted locations to ensure ongoing treatment and medical services.
The Federal EHR system functions as a centralised digital platform for patient histories, enabling clinicians to update and access medical data. System failures in such infrastructure can hinder healthcare professionals from retrieving critical information, affecting operational efficiency.
Oracle became a key player in the EHR market after acquiring Cerner for $28bn in 2022. According to the VA, the disruptions in the Federal EHR began at approximately 8:37 AM Eastern Time. Healthcare providers using the system encountered frozen screens and were unable to retrieve patient details or access applications. Full functionality was restored at 2:05 PM. Eastern Time following a system reboot.
The VA stated that Oracle is conducting an internal review to determine the cause of the failure. However, the company has not yet issued a public statement regarding the incident.
The outage follows ongoing challenges related to Oracle’s deployment of the Federal EHR platform at VA facilities. In 2021, before Oracle’s acquisition, the VA launched a review of Cerner’s system due to concerns related to patient safety. The department later paused further software rollouts in 2023 to assess ongoing performance issues. Despite these delays, four VA healthcare sites in Michigan are scheduled to transition to the Federal EHR system in 2026.
In June 2024, the VA extended its contract with Oracle Health as part of its Federal EHR modernisation strategy. This initiative is set to replace the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), which is used to support medical documentation within VA hospitals and clinics. The transition seeks to standardise patient data access across all VA-operated healthcare institutions while reinforcing financial and operational oversight.
Oracle’s upgraded EHR platform and AI integration
Oracle has been working on enhancements to its health record technology. In October 2024, the company introduced an upgraded version of its EHR platform, incorporating cloud-based infrastructure and AI. The new iteration is designed to automate clinical documentation, facilitate appointment scheduling, and improve coordination between medical providers and insurers.
The updated system features integrated voice commands, multimodal search capabilities, and AI-driven clinical summaries, allowing medical professionals to retrieve patient data more efficiently. The software also includes tools aimed at optimising regulatory compliance, supporting clinical trial enrolment, and improving financial performance for healthcare organisations.
As part of its broader technology ecosystem, Oracle’s new EHR platform connects with Oracle Health Command Center, providing healthcare administrators with tools to monitor patient volumes, staffing needs, and resource availability. The system aims to streamline operations across medical networks by offering real-time insights into facility management.
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