Time for the military to lead

We at FierceHealthIT are happy to hear that the U.S. Department of Defense and the state of Florida are working together to link up military EMRs and regional health information (see second story below). It's hard to argue that this is a reasonable thing to do. However, this is apparently the first time that the DoD has conducted such an effort with a non-federal agency. I wouldn't be surprised if the VA, and it's widely-praised EMR, VistA, has a similar track record. And I'm not seeing, say, health plans with lots of federal beneficiaries getting fired up about HIE.

I may be going off on a rant here, but isn't there something wrong with this picture? If the chief executive of our country has declared it a goal that we create a national, interoperable health data sharing system, why aren't federal agencies and contractors taking the lead in interoperability projects? What's more, wouldn't the military--with its tightly-controlled infrastructure and leadership--be a particularly well-suited to conquer this particular battlefield?

It isn't lost on me that agencies like DoD have a bigger bureaucracy in place than some major countries. With the DoD's EMR only rolling out in 2004, I'll admit that reaching out within three years isn't bad as such things go. But if our executive branch wants to see complete health data interoperability within five to seven years, we're way behind. Heck, it can take three or four years for one health system to get its own satellites online.

This would be a great time for the DoD to throw its EMR outreach program into overdrive, rather than creeping along a state at a time. If the DoD gets interoperability projects rolling all over the country, it would move President Bush's plans along much further than our current fragmented system could possibly manage. And along the way, of course, the Military Health System will be able to provide better care and slice costs for its 9 million beneficiaries. Sounds like a win for everyone involved--including the rest of the U.S. medical system. - Anne

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