DOD, VA Shift Medical Record Strategy

The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments , after several years of working toward a single, integrated electronic health record program, are changing their approach in the short term, the secretaries of both agencies said in a joint press conference Feb. 5. Under the new plans, the agencies will work to establish improved data interoperability, using resources on hand, by the end of the year, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said.

Among the goals:

• Enable access to the Blue Button initiative, which allows patients to download their medical records, by May;
• Create a "health data authoritative source" by September;
• Achieve standardized health care data by December;
• Accelerate exchange of DOD and VA data in real time by December...