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Electronic Health Records: DOD and VA Interoperability Efforts Are Ongoing; Program Office Needs to Implement Recommended Improvements

GAO-10-332 Published: Jan 28, 2010. Publicly Released: Jan 28, 2010.
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Highlights

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 required the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accelerate their exchange of health information and to develop capabilities that allow for interoperability (generally, the ability of systems to exchange data) by September 30, 2009. It also required compliance with federal standards and the establishment of a joint interagency program office to function as a single point of accountability for the effort. Further, the act directed GAO to semiannually report on the progress made in achieving these requirements. For this fourth report, GAO determined the extent to which (1) DOD and VA developed and implemented electronic health record systems or capabilities that allowed for full interoperability by September 30, 2009, and (2) the interagency program office established by the act is functioning as a single point of accountability. To do so, GAO analyzed agency documentation on project status and conducted interviews with agency officials.

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AccountabilityElectronic health recordsHealth care facilitiesInformation managementInformation systemsInformation technologyInteragency relationsInteroperabilityMedical information systemsMedical recordsPerformance measuresReporting requirementsSchedule slippagesStandardsStrategic planningData collectionTransparencyCompliance