Obama announces e-health records for vets

The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are creating a joint electronic medical record system to allow the two departments to share administrative and medical information, President Obama announced Thursday.

The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record project will track soldiers' lifelong medical histories beginning the day they enter service.

"Currently there is no comprehensive system in place that allows for a streamlined transition," Obama said. "That results in extraordinary hardship for an awful lot of veterans," such as lost records or delays in processing disability claims.

The VA is currently grappling with a six-month backlog in disability claims.

"This would represent a huge step towards modernizing the way health care is delivered...for our veterans," Obama said, noting that the system would follow the "strictest and most rigorous standards of privacy and security."

The new system would also represent a shift in health care services the president has pushed for all Americans. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated about $19 billion for the digitization of medical records. Electronic medical records is a burgeoning business for technology companies as they eye the digitization requirements hospitals and doctors' offices will soon be expected to meet.

Both the VA and the DOD, it was also announced this week, will be participating in Connect, an open-source gateway between multiple federal organizations and the proposed national health information network.

[BogusBasin]

I hate the VA. They have been giving me an equivalent to Prilosec for 8 years because I inhale stomach acid into my lungs while I sleep. Finally had to go to a civilian doctor to find out that I have a type of hernia where your stomach is coming up through your diaphragm. I also have "mildy severe" damage to my esophagus. It could have become cancer. It cost me hundreds of dollars out of my own pocket to find all this out. Sure feel appreciated for my 9 years of military service and resulting disability. Amen

[sythara]

But remember to still keep a hard copy of all your records because the records would get lost due to "transcription error" or "system unavailable" deal.

I have so many vets that deal with VA on regular basis working with me, and I haven't heared many positive things from them. Sure in theory electronic records would be great, but if history is of any guide, anytime I had to deal with tricare and their electronic systems, its been a nightmare to say the least.