“DEFENSE OPINION” By Frank Larkin
“At issue is the as-yet-incomplete adoption by the Department of Veterans Affairs of a new electronic health records (EHR) system for the 170 VA medical centers and 1,193 outpatient sites across the nation that serve approximately nine million veterans“
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“Roll out of the new EHR system has lagged, both due to the ripple effects of developmental problems that have since been corrected, and inadequate training of VA staff and related issues, the Government Accountability Office found in 2023. As a result, only five of VA’s 170 medical centers currently are using the software since Trump launched the effort back in 2017.
The VA system is designed to connect with the new records system in the U.S. military services. The idea is that a servicemember can transition from active duty to civilian life, along with all of his or her medical records – and not get lost in, or forgotten by, what can be an unforgiving bureaucracy. A seamless hand off is the goal, one that is well within reach.
“For veterans, this will result in improved standardization of health care delivery, patient care quality and safety,” the VA said in a statement.
New records keeping system a big step forward
The advent of a new medical records-keeping system for veterans might sound like a minor, logistical turn of the screw. Far from it.
According to Dr. Neil Evans, who leads the VA’s health record modernization office, electronic records “profoundly impact operations.” They help steer “how instructions for care… are transmitted and received within the hospital, how highly complex care is organized in our intensive care units, how surgeries are successfully planned and completed, how prescriptions are ordered and delivered,” he told a House panel.
At the level of the individual veteran, the new EHR system, under development by Oracle Health, will change lives. Veterans no longer will need to repeat tests or repeat basic info, such as drug allergies, to each provider. Their health risks will be better tracked by clinicians and identified earlier –before spiraling out of control. They will benefit from improved strategies to address suicide risk, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. If they move from one state or region to another, their records will follow.
A tool to combat isolation and suicide
From the perspective of my organization, dedicated to preventing isolation and curtailing suicide among veterans, modern record keeping will provide continuity of care, which is essential for keeping veterans connected to the VA. One of the main issues I hear from veterans is that the legacy records system is clunky and clumsy, that veterans regularly and repeatedly are having to provide their health histories to different clinicians, particularly if they use multiple VA medical centers and that they get disenfranchised by bureaucracy.
This matters especially for those standing on the edge of the abyss. By some estimates, two-thirds of vets who die by suicide have had no contact with the VA. Modernized records keeping sends a strong signal to the individual patient that “they are listening to me because I don’t have to cover the same old ground.” It keeps them connected to the VA and support networks. And if they are connected, they are far less likely to harm themselves.
The next major deployment of the new EHR system unfortunately isn’t scheduled until 2026, when four VA facilities in Michigan will get the overhaul.
But in the meantime, veterans are stuck with the VA’s antiquated health records system, which the GAO described as “technically complex, costly to maintain, and does not fully support the need to exchange health data with other organizations.” And also in the meantime, veteran suicide trends remain a national crisis and veteran health outcomes far worse than for civilians.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Frank Larkin
A former Navy SEAL, 40th U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms and father of a Navy SEAL son who died by suicide, Larkin is chief operating officer of Troops First Foundation and chairman of Warrior Call.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: For a history of the VA EHR System Development effort over a decade, please see: ‘Connecting The Dots’ In the Military And Veterans Health Care Systems Maze
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