VA And DoD’s Reversal On Electronic Health Records Criticized

The decision this month by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to scrap plans to create a single electronic health record came under renewed attack Wednesday on Capitol Hill as the Government Accountability Office questioned the departments’ assertion that the action will enable them to deliver improved health care more quickly and for less money...

Representatives from the VA and Pentagon insisted that the use of shared data, applications and user interface will allow “quick wins” that will improve health care. “Some have interpreted this shift in strategy as backing away from our commitment to achieve an integrated electronic health record,” Defense Department representatives said in their prepared testimony. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”