DoD, VA Reassure Congress Of Continued Growth Of Health Data Sharing

Defense and Veterans Affairs department officials are reassuring House lawmakers that just because they are developing separate electronic health systems, it doesn't mean the two departments aren't sharing electronic health records today and will share even more in the future.

Officials Wednesday tried to separate and clarify for lawmakers the different goals of sharing health records and having one electronic health system.

"All of these terms, like integrated record, carry an awful lot of weight and are interpreted differently by different people. My view is that by 2014, we will have integrated records that we share with VA. That is what the near projects are doing," said Frank Kendall, the under secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, who Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently put in charge of DoD's electronic health record system effort. [...]