Senate Hearing on VA Electronic Health Record Modernization
January 1, 2019
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The Frame
The project aims to create a single, seamless medical record for service members transitioning from military to veteran status, impacting how millions of veterans access and share health data with providers.
Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.
Veterans
Their medical records will be migrated to a new platform intended to improve data sharing between military and civilian healthcare providers.
Department of Veterans Affairs employees
Staff must adapt to a wholesale change in daily business operations and workflow processes.
Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.
Next step not available in the current record.
Summary
Key Facts
- The VA is undertaking a 10-year, $16 billion effort to modernize its health IT system.
- The project includes a $10 billion contract with Cerner to adopt the same electronic health record platform as the Department of Defense.
- The VA previously operated over 130 different versions of the VISTA legacy medical record system.
- Congress provided over $1 billion in the previous appropriations bill for the modernization effort, including $400 million for IT infrastructure.
- The VA and DoD issued a joint commitment in September 2018 to coordinate project and data management.
- Current challenges include interoperability with legacy and community systems, simultaneous project implementation, and slower-than-expected spending rates.
- The VA is currently developing access standards for the Veterans Community Care Program under the Mission Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the VA changing its health record system?
How much is the modernization project expected to cost?
Why It Matters
The project aims to create a single, seamless medical record for service members transitioning from military to veteran status, impacting how millions of veterans access and share health data with providers.
News Coverage
Lobbying Activity
WHEAT SHROYER GOVERNMENT RELATIONS LLC
on behalf of AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS
VAN SCOYOC ASSOCIATES
on behalf of EJ WATER COOPERATIVE, INC.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift to Joint DoD-VA Platform
The VA is moving away from its internal, fragmented VISTA system toward a unified platform shared with the Department of Defense.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.govinfo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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