U.S. agencies to develop electronic health records system

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have agreed to jointly develop an electronic health records system that will allow physicians to share the medical records of veterans and active military personnel.

The two departments said that a joint system will make medical records instantly accessible to physicians, allowing them and other health care professionals to make faster and better treatment decisions. Both departments have already moved to improve their electronic health records systems, according to the statement.

"Our two departments understand that we are responsible for the same people, only at different times in their lives," VA Deputy Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield said Tuesday in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. "Our greatest challenge, and our greatest opportunity, is to build systems that meet the needs of veterans and DOD beneficiaries for today and tomorrow. We will continue to persevere toward that goal."

Mansfield said the VA and DOD information sharing successes resulted from the implementation of a DOD/VA Joint Electronic Health Records Interoperability (JEHRI) Plan. The JEHRI is a comprehensive strategy to develop collaborative technologies and interoperable data repositories as well as the use of common data standards.

He said the agencies began implementing the JEHRI Plan in 2002 with the implementation of the Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE). Since then, that information exchange has supported the secure one-way transmission of DOD electronic medical records to a shared repository, where records reside for review by clinicians treating veterans at VA hospitals and clinics, Mansfield said.

The next phase of JEHRI, the Clinical Health Data Repository, will allow the VA and DOD to develop an interface between their individual electronic health records systems, he said.

"The programs and benefits earned by service members could not be delivered without complete cooperation between the DOD and the VA in the area of information sharing," David S. C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at the Tuesday hearing. "Indeed, information sharing is critical to an effective and transparent transition process, and that is why so much attention is paid to information management and information technology in the Joint Strategic Plan."

Last June the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report calling on the VA and the DOD to improve their efforts to standardize health records.

In that report, the GAO acknowledged that the agencies had made some progress in sharing the health information of patients who receive care from both departments and electronically transferring laboratory work orders and results. But they still had not developed a clearly defined project management plan, something the GAO had previously called on them to do.

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