Leidos to modernize health care IT system.

* The Defense Department has awarded a Leidos-led team a $4.3 billion contract to modernize its electronic health records (EHR) system, but analysts are skeptical that the ambitious program goals will be achieved.

The contract award, announced at the end of July, calls for Leidos and its project partners--the Center Corp. and Accenture Federal Services--to use off-the-shelf technology to create a new EHR system, which is expected to cover 9.5 million Defense Department health care beneficiaries and more than 205,000 government and commercial health care providers. The Pentagon operates 55 hospitals and more than 600 clinics, and the new system must operate globally, including in austere places like Afghanistan, according to a Defense Department news release.

The Leidos team is expected to complete its 10-year contract work by September 2025, if all options are exercised.

Loren Thompson, CEO of Source Associates, a Virginia-based defense consulting firm, said the initiative would be "the biggest EHR project in history."

The effort is intended to improve operability among the Defense Department, Department of Veterans Affairs and private sector providers, allowing all parties to access and update health records.

"The patients we serve are frequently on the move, as are our caregivers, so it is very important to have a highly integrated system that is portable to serve the needs wherever they may be required," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Jonathan Woodson in the news release.

Analysts said it would be difficult for industry and the Defense Department to meet the program's objectives.

"I'm not very optimistic," said Niam Yaraghi, a health...