VA to share health data with Indiana HIE

The Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its efforts to share electronic clinical data with private healthcare organizations by partnering with members of the well-established Indiana Health Information Exchange.

As part of a pilot program announced last week, the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center will follow Nationwide Health Information Network protocols in exchanging data with select IHIE participants in the Indianapolis area for veterans and active servicemembers who receive care from both VA/Military Health System facilities and private providers.

"This pilot is one more step taken to deliver a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for our nation's veterans and servicemembers," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said, reports Healthcare IT News. "This new technology allows safer, more secure, and private access to electronic health information, which, in turn, enhances our ability to continue providing veterans with the quality care that they have earned."

The Indiana pilot, which will run through 2012, marks the third such test of healthcare data sharing between the VA, the Department of Defense and the private sector. Similar pilots are underway in San Diego County, Calif., and in the Tidewater area of Virginia.

To learn more:
- take a look at this Healthcare IT News story
- see this Government Health IT story

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