It sounds like the VA hospitals are suffering from major failures of protocol and procedure, none of which can be solved by IT systems, even if they work well. Turns out that computerized systems also require that humans follow protocol and procedure in order for them to function properly. But either way, these systems don't operate in a vacuum. Someone needs to analyze the real-world impact of these problems and develop a workflow and procedures that work with the hospital's organizational structure, physical layout, current and planned staff, training, auditing, procurement, patient scheduling, and accounting systems. No software contract for one piece with HP or IBM or Cerner is going to address all of that.
> The VA has also vowed the project would prevent death and disease from unsterilized equipment, a persistent problem at the VA.<p>Oh my god how is this a problem in the modern age? Stop wasting our money on gimmicks and focus on adopting modern hospital practices.
> the department’s $543 million contract with Hewlett-Packard<p>> The system [...] has been hailed as a way to potentially save millions of dollars<p>Does not compute.
Having first hand experience with the VA I can't say I'm surprised, but really it doesn't matter that it's the VA, because I think most companies doing iot things already are likely going to face failure on their project as well.<p>In this case I'm mostly thinking about the horrible security environment of the iot ecosystem, especially cellularly connected ones.<p>"VA officials worried that the department’s $543 million contract with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services to implement a real-time locating system, or RTLS, was careening off the rails"<p>Wow. Let me guess, good ol boy contract kick-back where the good ol boy can't deliver as promised. It's a classic American tale. Great thing the government bid system is blindingly fair and egalitarian. Yup, that's it I bet.<p>"VA officials have said work here stalled about 18 months ago due to contract issues"
> When it was awarded in 2012, the RTLS contract represented an opportunity for the VA to shed its reputation as an old-school tech dinosaur and chart a path toward what leaders were calling a “transformation initiative.”<p>That sounds a lot like a mid-life crisis.