Service members and veterans should soon have seamless, secure access to their health records. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced May 17 that it signed a contract with a commercial provider, to modernize the agency’s information technology system. Provisions include:
* Seamless sharing of Defense Department (DoD) and VA medical records.
* Easier sharing, coordination and delivery of these records.
* The ability to add capabilities as needed, to help veterans, clinicians and community providers get what they need.
Both VA and DoD are working together with each other and the contractor, Missouri-based Cerner Corp., to ensure that past lessons learned would be incorporated in implementation. Congress has provided VA with $782 million for fiscal year 2018, which ends Sept. 30, to fund the initiative.
