Pentagon will be the primary provider of IT for integrated health records

Bob Brewin | NextGov | May 10, 2012

The integrated electronic health record the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are planning to launch within two years will rely heavily on Defense systems and services, with VA playing second fiddle, according to a report the Pentagon submitted to Congress in April.

The EHR Way Ahead Architecture the Military Health System started developing in 2009 will serve as the baseline for the integrated system, for instance. The Defense Manpower Data Center will provide identity management services and the Defense Information Systems Agency will store the electronic health records in its data centers, Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, said in an April 3 report to the Senate and House Armed Services committees.

In the 55-page report, “Department of Defense Enterprise Architecture to Guide the Transition of the DoD Electronic Health Record and Related Matters,” Woodson said both departments agreed in early 2011 that the EHR Way Ahead Architecture “would be the ‘presumptive’ architecture. It has since evolved into the target iEHR based on identified joint functional details.” The report did not define or explain those details...

The report said integrated electronic health record development will focus on a “best of breed approach that includes a mix of [service-oriented architecture]–compliant capabilities, open source and custom systems.” Commercial software tops the list for the iEHR, according to the report. “First, purchase commercially available solutions for joint use. Second, if available, adopt a department-developed application solution. Third, approve joint application development on a case-by-case basis,” the report said...

Comments

Read the source document

The DoD iEHR Architecture document referred to above can be found at http://www.tricare.mil/tma/congressionalinformation/downloads/Health%20I... Rather than rely solely on a reporter's interpretation, I recommend reading the source document.