The Federal Electronic Health Record has been deployed at four Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Michigan.
The Federal EHR went live on April 11 at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, VA Battle Creek Medical Center, VA Detroit Healthcare System, and the VA Saginaw Healthcare System.
According to a VA release, this is the first wave of 13 planned deployments this year under an accelerated schedule, which is aimed at fulfilling the promise of a more connected, efficient and patient-centered experience across all VA facilities.
“These first EHR deployments in 2026 represent real progress toward a unified electronic health record that strengthens care delivery for our patients and providers,” said VA Deputy Secretary DR. Paul Lawrence in a release. “With our Michigan sites now live, we are building strong momentum as we prepare for the next wave of implementation.”
Cerner, then Oracle Health, and VA contracted in 2018 to integrate the Department of Defense’s health records system with VA’s. The effort to integrate the systems faced hurdles along the way to full implementation, including outages, issues with patient scheduling and prescription management.
The integration was paused in 2023 by the Biden administration to allow for upgrades.
According to VA, the deployment means Michigan veterans will benefit from a seamless, hassle-free transfer of military health records among VA, Department of War and other federal partners; the integration of health information from private sector facilities into VA’s care for veterans and Improved continuity of care when they transfer among facilities or need emergency care at facilities they’ve never visited.
Under VA’s accelerated schedule, the following additional EHR deployments will take place this year:
June:
- Chillicothe VA Medical Center (Chillicothe, OH)
- Cincinnati VAMC (Cincinnati, OH)
- Cincinnati VAMC-Fort Thomas (Fort Thomas, KY)
- Dayton VAMC (Dayton, OH)
August:
- Fort Wayne VAMC (Fort Wayne, IN)
- Marion VAMC (Marion, IN)
- Richard L. Roudebush VAMC (Indianapolis, IN)
October 2026:
- Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage, AK)
- Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC (Cleveland, OH)
For more information about the EHRM program and the Federal EHR, visit https://digital.va.gov/ehr-modernization.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
