VA, Kaiser have a deal on e-health

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Kaiser Permanente are launching a pilot program that will allow them to exchange electronic health record information. The program is expected to begin mid-December 2009, and will connect Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect and the VA's electronic health record system, VistA, two of the largest EHR systems in the country. They will be using the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) created by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The pilot will begin in the San Diego area, where veterans who receive care from both institutions will be invited to join the project. Officials said starting this week, VA and Kaiser Permanente will send a joint letter to Veterans in the San Diego area who receive care from both institutions, to invite Veterans to participate in the pilot program.

"The ability to share critical health information is essential to interoperability," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki. "Utilizing the NHIN's standards and network will allow organizations like VA and the Department of Defense to partner with private sector health care providers to promote better, faster and safer care for Veterans."

This pilot is part of the Obama administration's efforts to create a system using e-health records instead of paper ones. The next phase of the project will include DoD employees.

For more on e-health records:
- see this Government Health IT article

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