The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have begun to implement a new program that facilitates secure health information exchanges between the two.
VA said Monday its joint health information exchange with DoD would help health care providers access electronic health record data across both departments through a single entry point.
“The recent COVID-19 pandemic underlines the importance for clinicians on the front lines to quickly access a patient’s health record, regardless of where that patient previously received care,” said Neil Evans, interim director at the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization program office.
The government also plans to expand the joint HIE’s interoperability with other systems, programs and networks. The CommonWell provider network is expected to join the HIE program within 2020.
DoD and VA are working to unify their electronic health records into a single system.
