The first joint deployment of the federal Electronic Health Record is underway at the Capt. James A. Lovell Health Care Center in North Chicago.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization office announced the launch during a call with reporters on March 7.
“The Federal EHR will enhance care for all beneficiaries who walk through our doors, whether they are veterans, Navy recruits, students, active-duty service members, their dependents, or retirees,” said Lovell FHCC Director Dr. Robert Buckley in a statement. “It enables a continuum of care that will enhance our operations as we work to optimize health outcomes for those we serve.”
This is the first joint deployment of the federal EHR, which DoD calls MHS GENESIS, at a joint VA and DOD facility. Problems with system outages and other issues caused VA to pause future rollouts in April of 2023. The EHR is currently live at 5 VA facilities across the nation and at all DoD locations nationally and internationally.
“While VA continues with the broader reset of our electronic health record modernization program, we are learning lessons from this deployment to inform our future decisions,” said acting program executive director of the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, Dr. Neil Evans.
As the only fully integrated, jointly run VA and DOD health care system in the country, Lovell FHCC provides health care to approximately 75,000 patients annually, including veterans, service members and their families, and Navy recruits.
Evans told reporters that there is value in going live at a more complex site such as Lovell with a higher inpatient volume and a broader set of specialties.
“We’re going to learn, based on the more complex facility,” he said.
The joint deployment ensures that all patients who visit the facility will receive coordinated care through a single fully integrated EHR system.
“The launch of the Federal EHR at Lovell FHCC will help DoD and VA deliver on the promise made to those who serve our country to provide seamless care from their first day of active service to the transition to veteran status,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Lester Martinez-Lopez.
For more information about VA’s overall EHR modernization effort, visit here. For more information about DoD’s effort, visit here. For more information about the Federal EHR, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.