The departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense plan to establish a dedicated program office to oversee decision-making on health record modernization efforts, Federal Times reported Wednesday. VA is working to develop an interoperable system for transitioning servicemen into the veteran community.
The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Program Office intends to address the lack of cooperation exhibited in previous interoperability efforts. Lauren Thompson, who directs the DoD-VA Interagency Program Office, said leaders of the FEHRM program office will have the capacity to direct joint decisions for technical, programmatic, financial and policy aspects.
“An interim FEHRM director and deputy director will be appointed to work with the implementation team in transitioning joint functions into the FEHRM once the FEHRM has an approved charter,” Thompson said at a hearing with the House Veterans Affairs Committee. DoD and VA will present more details on the FEHRM office establishment plan to Congress in weeks to come.
