Pentagon Aims To Boost EHR Interoperability With VA

Last month, the Department of Defense issued a draft request for proposals that would help the agency meet requirements for electronic health record interoperability under the Healthcare Management Systems Modernization project, EHR Intelligence reports (Bresnick, EHR Intelligence, 2/7).

Background on DOD, VA EHR Efforts

DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs first launched an effort to create a joint integrated EHR, or iEHR system, in 2009. The iEHR project aimed to allow every service member to maintain a single EHR throughout his or her career and lifetime.

However, DOD and VA officials in February 2013 announced plans to halt the iEHR project and instead focus on making their current EHR systems more interoperable.

The House and Senate in December 2013 approved a funding bill -- the National Defense Authorization Act -- that required VA and DOD to develop a plan for an interoperable or single electronic health record system by Jan. 31 (iHealthBeat, 1/6).