VA Marks the 10-Year Anniversary of the 'My HealtheVet' PHR System

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the award-winning My HealtheVet system, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is urging all military veterans and active-duty service members to join the millions of others already using its online Personal Health Record (PHR) system.

The VA is marking this milestone by asking everyone to help spread the word about the benefits of using My HealtheVet. The system allows veterans to access a wide variety of VA health care information and services online. Using this PHR system, veterans can request VA prescription (Rx) refills, view scheduled clinic appointments, see results of their laboratory tests, gain access to many other components of their medical records via the VA Blue Button, and also use the secure messaging feature to communicate directly with VA health care providers. 

“VA is a pioneer and a leader of health information technology that improves patient-provider relationships, embraces wellness and improves health outcomes for the brave men and women who have served our Nation,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. The VA invites all veterans and service members to go online and become more active partners in their health care.

There are a number of key people who ought to be recognized for ensuring My HealtheVet became a reality. We are referring in particular to: Dan Maloney, the former Director of Emerging Technologies who oversaw the design and development of the initial pilot system; Dr. Kolodner, the former CIO for Veterans Health, who fought for the resources needed to develop and deploy the system; Ginger Price, the Deputy ACIO responsible for the successful nation-wide implementation of the system; and the hundreds of others in the VA who labored quietly in the background on the system for many years.

Throughout November, My HealtheVet Coordinators at all 151 VA medical centers organized community events, hosted enrollment and education health fairs, led training sessions, and worked with VA Voluntary Service to showcase how My HealtheVet contributes to more informed and more engaged Veteran patients.  The VA is continuing add new online tools and features to the system to better serve veterans and their family members.

In addition to allowing Veterans access to their records, My HealtheVet lets them save, print and share their health information using the VA Blue Button, refill VA prescriptions online and track their health activities. Veterans who upgrade their accounts, free of charge, can use secure messaging to communicate electronically with their VA health care teams between visits.  They can also view VA appointments, get VA Wellness Reminders, access VA lab results and more.

“We continue to urge Veterans and Service members to go online during November and throughout the year,” said Theresa Hancock, Director of the My HealtheVet program. All military veterans, active-duty service members, and their families are encouraged to check out the My HealtheVet Personal Health Record (PHR) system at www.myhealth.va.gov.

For those healthcare provider organizations or health IT vendors interested in possibly a PHR system for use by their patients, a free and 'open source' version of the My HealtheVet system, called HealtheMe, is available from the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA). The open source HealtheMe system was developed by KRM Associates.