MedVirginia first to connect to Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

Community-based health information exchange (HIE) service provider MedVirginia has connected with the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER), a collaboration between Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD) and civilian health systems to connect the health records of the active duty military personnel and veterans in the U.S.

For this initiative, the Richmond, Va.-based MedVirginia is leveraging its open-source CONNECT gateway to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) in order to enable clinical information exchange based on the continuity-of-care document C32 format.

MedVirginia connected four healthcare facilities in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia for VLER: Mary Immaculate Hospital, DePaul Medical Center, Maryview Medical Center and Harbour View Health Center. All four facilities are part of the Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System.

MedVirginia also has deployed means for civilian physicians outside DoD and VA to query for information about their patients who are military personnel and participating veterans, the organization added.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.