EDS Wins Purchase Agreement From Veterans AffairsEDS Wins Purchase Agreement From Veterans Affairs

Electronic Data Systems, the nation's second largest technology outsourcer, said Tuesday that it has been selected as a prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under a program worth up to $1 billion over 10 years to a handful of vendors.

EDS is one of eight outsourcers selected by the VA to perform work under its Vista Contractor Services Program, through which the VA plans to modernize its IT systems. The VA has yet to disclose the other contractors selected for work under the program. Officials at the department couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Under a so-called blanket purchasing agreement with the VA, EDS will bid alongside the other selected Vista contractors for the right to perform work within the program. Among other things, EDS says it's ready to help move the clinical information system in use at VA hospitals to an open architecture. EDS has previously helped the VA implement the design and development of electronic health records for veterans.

EDS' partners on its VA Vista team include the Mayo Clinic, Oregon Health and Science University, and Patriot Technologies, a systems integrator owned by disabled veterans.