The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) have announced the launch of a new health data sharing capability that officials contend will enhance both departments’ ability to securely exchange records with community healthcare partners.
Department leaders say that the joint DOD and VA health information exchange (HIE) allows providers in both departments “to quickly and securely access electronic health record (EHR) data for their patients seen by a participating community partner or health system. Equally important, participating community providers now have a single point of entry to request and access DOD and VA electronic health records for use in their treatment of those patients.”
The benefits of the new joint HIE capability are currently available to all VA and DOD care providers and to all participating community partners. The joint HIE also provides a platform for future interoperability expansion, including connecting to CommonWell, a network of more than 15,000 community providers, expected later this year, according to officials.
The joint HIE capability honors patient consent, so that health records of patients who opt out of sharing will not be exchanged through the HIE.
The VA continues to work on replacing the department’s 40-year-old legacy EHR system, the Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), by adopting the same platform as the DOD, a Cerner EHR system. However, the department has already delayed the implementation of the $16 billion project twice this year—originally because it needed more time to build the system and train users—and then because it needed to shift its resources into managing the COVID-19 outbreak. After the first delay announcement, VA officials said the go-live date for the EHR at the first VA facility wouldn’t be until July.
Similarly, the implementation of MHS Genesis, the DOD’s modernized EHR system, was also recently delayed due to COVID-19. The implementation of that EHR at DOD sites began in 2017.
“The recent COVID-19 pandemic underlines the importance for clinicians on the front lines to quickly access a patient’s health record, regardless of where that patient previously received care,” said Neil Evans, M.D., the interim director of the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization program office. “As the DOD and VA implement a single, common record, the joint health information exchange and the associated expansion of community exchange partners is a critical step forward, delivering immediate value to all DOD and VA sites.”
