House Appropriations Committee approves $334M for joint VA-DoD EHR system

Laura Pedulli | | Health Exec | Policy & Regulations

The House Appropriations Committee approved an initial $73.3 billion fiscal year 2014 military and veterans appropriations bill that contains $344 million to “jumpstart” a single, integrated Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) EHR system (iEHR).

Under the legislation, the secretaries of the DOD and VA must certify the iEHR system, with confirmation by the Government Accountability Office, before the majority of funding for the program is released.

The bill follows criticism from legislators on efforts to dismantle the iEHR initiative to instead focus on interoperability of the two systems.

On Feb. 5, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had announced their intentions to step back from developing a joint iEHR—which had been slated for completion by 2017—and instead focus on connectivity between the systems to hasten their integration and lower costs.  Policymakers sharply criticized that move during a hearing later that month, arguing that the “U-turn” put the agencies in the wrong direction.

Laura Pedulli

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