WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson today said the VA and the Department of Defense plan to launch an integrated healthcare information system capable of seamlessly transferring patient information between their two departments.

“The new system will become a model for others to emulate and probably will have an immeasurable effect on the HIT community, both large and small,” Nicholson said at today’s meeting of the federal American Health Information Community.
 
“If you’ve been involved in [healthcare information technology], you will know that this is a ground-breaking event,” Nicholson said. “We will reach well beyond the military with this effort and can change the future of [electronic health records] worldwide and nationwide.”  

The VA and DoD came upon the idea to create the mutual system through exposure to interoperability and other healthcare IT initiatives promoted by the AHIC, Nicholson told Michael Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, chairman of AHIC and other members in attendance.

Nicholson predicted the new system would result in better care, a significant savings to taxpayers and would make records “instantly accessible” to both departments.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs William Winkenwerder Jr., a member of AHIC, said the timing was right for such a development because both the VA and DoD were ready to upgrade their healthcare IT systems. “We’ve come to a fork in the road and we’re going to take it,” Winkenwerder said. “We’re very excited about this and it has happened very quickly.”

Leavitt called the announcement “a monumental event” and said the integration of “the two great systems” is an important step in moving forward the administration’s vision of a healthcare system based on value.