WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) military and veteran health systems signed an agreement recently committing their departments to pursue information systems that allow them to exchange health information more effectively.
The two federal departments have been working to develop a common health information infrastructure and architecture comprised of standardized data, communications, security, and high performance health information systems.
Working in close partnership under the titles of the Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE) and HealthePeople (Federal), this two-phase effort will exchange patient data and result in interoperable computerized health record systems using DoD’s CHCS II (Composite Health Care System) and VA’s HealtheVet strategy for VistA (HealtheVet-VistA).
“With so many health information systems operating under a variety of standards, it is extremely difficult for any health care organization to effectively share their information,” said Dr. William Winkenwerder, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs).
In addition, health care providers must deal with an increasing and ever-changing body of medical knowledge, as well as a more knowledgeable and mobile patient population. “Patients move from place to place and have emergency care needs as they travel,” said Dr. Robert Roswell, VA’s Under Secretary for Health. “The need for ‘real time’ information is increasing as is the call for improved patient satisfaction, efficiency and quality.”
The first phase of this plan focuses on DoD providing information to VA clinicians via the Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE, formerly Government Computer-Based Patient Record) effort, already fully operational since July 2002.
The second phase, HealthePeople (Federal), is a joint VA and DoD effort consisting of three parts: standards, joint efforts on software applications, and information exchange. The goals of this phase are to:
• Improve sharing of health information
• Adopt common standards for architecture, data, communications, security,
• technology and software
• Seek joint procurements and/or building of applications, where appropriate
• Seek opportunities for sharing existing systems & technology
• Explore convergence of VA & DoD health information applications consistent with mission requirements.
The result of these Federal Health Information Exchange and HealthePeople (Federal) efforts should make a substantial contribution to the nation’s efforts to standardize health data and communications as well as to strengthen health information security. Further, it will provide “proof of concept” that high performance health information systems can be developed and that they substantially improve health care and health outcomes. Each of these is critical if the nation is to achieve the Institute of Medicine goal of health care being “paperless” by the end of this decade.
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