U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs begins nationwide health record rollout in Indiana

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a new Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, with Indiana serving as the first state for the nationwide rollout. The system is scheduled to go live on August 22 at three Indiana locations: the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, and VA centers in Fort Wayne and Marion.

Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. Paul Lawrence stated that the new system aims to improve efficiency by consolidating health records, prescriptions, and secure messaging into a single portal via VA.gov. This replaces the previous ‘My HealtheVet’ system. The goal is to allow doctors to access all patient information on a single screen rather than searching through multiple databases, thereby reducing paperwork and allowing more time for patient care.

The EHR is designed to track veterans’ medical history from their time in the military throughout their lives. The rollout will occur in stages across the country over the next five years. To ensure patient safety during the transition, providers will conduct final checks on all transferred medications. The system features two layers of security, developed by Oracle and the VA.