Rep. Phil Roe, MD, (R-Tenn.) reintroduced legislation this week that would create an integrated EHR system for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.
The Integrated Electronic Health Records for Military and Veterans Act proposes creating a public-private partnership to develop just that, an integrated EHR "to streamline the coordination of care and benefits claims for those that have served," according to a statement from Rep. Roe's office.
This proposed legislation would establish a temporary panel to outline criteria for the system, which would be developed by a U.S. vendor. The vendor will receive $50 million as a lump sum and $25 million per year for five years to operate the system.
Rep. Roe's bill is separate from the DOD's $11 million Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization program, which seeks a commercial solution to replace the existing EHR and information management systems.
According to Politico's Morning eHealth, Rep. Roe's staff said, "The DOD is moving forward with a competition, but they are missing the important feature of a new EHR system — that it be compatible with the VA system so that service members can have a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life….Until the VA and the DOD can adopt a single platform to work from, there will be interoperability problems."
Politico said DOD did not respond to inquiries about the bill.
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