VA, DOD launch joint HIE to ease data sharing with community providers

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) unveiled a joint health information exchange to enable medical providers at both agencies to share patient data with private sector healthcare organizations. The joint HIE enables interoperable health information sharing between VA, DOD and community providers. Participating community providers now have a single point of entry to request and access DOD and VA electronic health records (EHRs) for patients they are treating, the VA said in a press release. “The recent COVID-19 pandemic underlines the importance for clinicians on the front lines to quickly access a patient’s health record, regardless of where that patient previously received care,” said Neil Evans, M.D., interim director of the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization program office, in a statement. The benefits of the new joint HIE capability are currently available to all VA and DOD care providers and all participating community partners.