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Epic Systems Corp. says it has received word that its $624 million contract to provide computer software that would give military veterans faster access to medical care has been axed.

The contract will go instead to competitor Cerner Corp., which already holds multibillion-dollar agreements to update the computerized health records programs for both active and retired military members.

Verona-based Epic, one of the nation’s largest electronic health records (EHR) providers, said it has not received formal notice from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but in late January, the company received a copy of a letter written by Jerome Pannullo, the agency’s acting associate deputy assistant secretary, to a congressional committee on the issue.

The letter, dated Dec. 20, said that while committee members support implementing “a single EHR that includes all elements, including appointment scheduling, the conferees are disturbed that some regions of the country will not benefit from the scheduling system for a decade ... The VA intends to separate the scheduling component within the EHR Cerner contract and implement it on a faster track.”