GHITS Opinion | Are the DoD and VA Collaborating Enough to Achieve Interoperability?

If you aren't already aware, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) are working toward a common goal. That goal being an EHR for the group of stakeholders they share. Military service members and veterans. Although they share this unique population at different stages of their life's, having an EHR that is interoperable will achieve the height of continuity of care.

So, if you can imagine this requires more than elbow strength and billions of dollars in resources have since been allocated to each effort. The two agencies are working with the same off the shelf commercial product from the healthcare IT industry. This EHR product is being reconfigured to meet federal standards. The DoD has already gained headway in their efforts with their first deployment being back in 2019. Although the DoD has experienced challenges and bumps in the road, they've been able to keep the implementation of the EHR moving along. However, since the VA's first deployment in 2020, they've been at a stand still with their implementation.

Understandably, EHR implementations at this magnitude have not been done before. The DoD has well over 500 facilities to implement their EHR and the VA has over 1300 facilities, both globally.

There are two looming concerns however, that are very hard to ignore:

1. If the DoD is having success why isn't the VA adopting methodologies and deployment strategies from the DoD to strengthen their efforts?

2. There are billions of dollars hanging in the balance of these efforts.

Those are tax payers dollars, to improve the quality of care for our nations service members and veterans. Failure is not an option. If you're thinking by now that the DoD/VA should form a council, a coalition, a steering committee, a tiger team or whatever you want to call it. There is one; known as the FEHRM (Federal Electronica Health Record Modernization).

So the third question is if the FEHRM is playing their role in consummating the collaboration between the two agencies?

It's possible that tighter governance over collaboration might be the solution. There are too many resources invested and acquired to wait and see what happens. I'm not suggesting more red tape. However, a shared overseer to ensure that the efforts of the VA is a carbon copy of the DoD is the only way to ensure the interoperability being sought at this point. With the two health systems having variances so shall the EHR but seeming as though is it the same commercial product, same patients, similar physical infrastructures it is obtainable with the proper governance.