A $30-million , three-week court battle over efforts to digitize hospital medical records has been averted with a last minute settlement, a University of Virginia spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
In a lawsuit, the university claimed a firm now owned by General Electric failed to live up to promises for developing an electronic medical record system at the university’s hospital. The suit had been set for trial beginning Monday in Charlottesville Circuit Court. The start date was pushed to Wednesday as settlement talks continued, according to a court official.
The lawsuit and settlement cap a 13-year conflict over digital medical records, according to Charlottesville weekly C-Ville.
The litigation was marked by finger pointing between the software suppliers and U.Va., which slowed the hospital’s transition to electronic records, the magazine reported.
The U.Va. spokesperson said details of the settlement were not expected to be released. “The matter is resolved; that’s all I can say,” said Eric Swensen at U.Va.’s public relations office.
