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As AMSUS, The Society of Federal Health Professionals serves as the voice for the federal health professional and advocate for interagency collaboration, we are especially excited about the creation of the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Program Office, which will oversee the rollout of and ensure interoperability of the Veterans Affairs’ (VA)/Veteran Health Administrations’ (VHA) Electronic Health Record-Modernization and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Military Health System Genesis. The two Federal Departments have been working toward electronic health record interoperability for some time and will build on the expertise and best practices codified through the DoD-VA Interagency Program Office—the forerunner of the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization.
Interoperability of DoD and VA electronic health record systems is a great starting point, and ultimately success will serve as an impetus to integrate other DoD-VA IT systems, such as human resource, logistic, and financial (electronic health record business intelligence)—out of necessity and/or where it makes sense—as well as more clinically relevant applications such as cancer, trauma, and occupational exposure registries and population health databases. Paired with data from wearables (IoT or Internet of Things), virtual care delivery (nee telemedicine) platforms and information shared by the service member or veteran in the capacity of a patient will create a more complete and precise clinical picture of individual health—for both the service member/veteran and the federal health professional practitioner.
