Pentagon, VA health data sharing moves slowly

Despite working on the project for 10 years, the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs are still far from being able to share health data freely. However, they have begun sharing some data, with interoperability levels that vary by type, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. To date, the two have reached the highest levels of interoperability in sharing pharmacy and drug allergy information, according to the GAO. However, many records are still "read only," and worse, many DoD facilities still store information on paper, the watchdog agency says.

Shortly, the two agencies are expected to announce their plans for a single inpatient clinical information system serving both DoD and VA medical facilities, which might involve integrating their separate systems or selecting a new application. However, the GAO is skeptical the two can get through its current projects without tighter controls. The two will need to establish a program office and implementation plan with set milestones if they want to have a prayer of building out an interoperable EMR by the deadline set by President Bush, the GAO said.

To learn more about the VA and DoD's records projects:
- read this iHealthBeat article

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