Reports address lack of interoperability between DoD, VA
A pair of reports note strong concern for the lack of EHR interoperability between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD).
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) added the problem to its list of "high-risk" areas.
Updated biennially, the list flags government systems and programs that are particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement or transformation. The most recent update was presented to Congress on Feb. 11 with both "managing risks and improving VA healthcare" and "improving management of IT acquisitions and operations" making the list for the first time. Both areas cite the lack of data sharing between the VA and DoD as a significant problem warranting increased attention.
"The two departments have engaged in a series of initiatives intended to achieve electronic health record interoperability, but accomplishment of this goal has been continuously delayed and has yet to be realized," according to the GAO report. "The ongoing lack of electronic health record interoperability limits VA clinicians' ability to readily access information from DOD records, potentially impeding their ability to make the most informed decisions on treatment options, and possibly putting veterans' health at risk."
The two agencies have working on data-sharing projects for 15 years, and even committed to a new integrated EHR in 2011. They then, however, abandoned those plans to integrate two separate systems instead.
Both the GAO and a new report from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) on reforming the military's healthcare system addressed the agencies' lack of interoperability. The selection of one "winner" of a 10-year, $10 billion contract for a modernized EHR system for the VA could lead to "vendor lock and health data isolation," according to CNAS.
The DoD should instead "choose a platform that is extensible, flexible and easy to safely modify and upgrade as technology improves and interoperability demands evolve," and end the "unsustainable spiral" of increasing fee-for-service costs, according to the CNAS report.
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.