Frank Kendall, the Defense Department‘s top acquisition official, told reporters Wednesday the Pentagon should be able to implement a joint electronic health records system with the Department of Veterans Affairs by the end of the year, American Forces Press Service reports.
Jim Garamone writes Kendall led a team reviewing the proposed system, intended to help the two departments and healthcare providers share medical records.
Kendall said the VA will continue to use the Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture, known as VISTA, and the Pentagon may use the same platform or opt for another software, AFPS reports.
The Pentagon has received proposals from 20 commercial vendors for this initiative with three products based on VISTA.
“Once we have that data in the standardized form and we have converted the data we have now into that architecture, then weâre positioned to whatever lies ahead,” Kendall said, according to the report.