VA Launches Health Information Exchange Pilot

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to build its health information technology infrastructure to serve the veteran population, the department said it will start a pilot project in the Richmond region to improve the delivery of veterans' health information. The pilot, announced last week, involves the Richmond VA Medical Center and MedVirginia (MedVA).

MedVA is a healthcare IT group serving central Virginia that was formed in 2000 by a consortium of Virginia health care providers. Both organizations will partner to create a comprehensive health information network for exchanging health information by using the VA's Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) Health program.

VLER shares select parts of a Veterans' medical record electronically, safely, and privately with other approved healthcare facilities that are members of the Nationwide Health Information Network. The VLER Health program has pioneered the exchange of information between different healthcare systems.