“The implementation of broad-reaching health records modernization across the Department of Veterans Affairs is encouraging broader tech modernization to encourage a smoother transition.”
“Speaking at the NextGov Roadmap to Modernization forum, VA CIO Jim Gfrerer noted how the investment in IT modernization in anticipation of the Cerner electronic health records platform has led to newfound efficiencies across the agency.”
“Much of this has been the work of the Veterans Health Information Exchange, or VHIE, that was implemented to encourage smoother networking with community care providers as part of the broader Cerner rollout.”
“’We’ve added to the joint Health Information Exchange, and we’ve enabled now tens of thousands of commercial or community care providers to be able to integrate,’ Gfrerer said.”
“This newfound efficiency has rested in large part on the usage of more sophisticated APIs to foster the transfer of health and patient information across connected VA networks, a process that has made it easier for VA patients to seek care across affiliated providers while reducing costs of operation.”
“’If you think about the business value of that, the reduction in exams — radiology images, blood tests — you know now the information can be shared across the providers,’ Gfrerer said. “It’s going to be a huge productivity and cost containment benefit, and the interaction to that is through APIs.”
“Gfrerer recognized the challenges of reconciling these demands with the widely variable IT capacities and infrastructure of non-VA commercial providers…” Read the full article here.
Source: Health Records Modernization Helping Standardize VA IT – By Adam Patterson, November 12, 2020. GovernmentCIO.
