Joint systems unrealized at only fully integrated VA, DoD hospital

Electronic health record compatibility at the nation's only fully integrated Defense and Veterans Affairs departments hospital remains an only partially-achieved ambition, says the Government Accountability Office.

In a July 19 report, the GAO says the DoD and VA have either implemented, or are in process of implementing integrated operations at the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Ill. However, in the case of information technology, rollout of joint EHR capability has been delayed or indefinitely postponed, the report states.

Specifically, implementation of a system to ensure laboratory work order portability between the DoD EHR, known as AHLTA, and the VA system, known as VistA, had been postponed until an undetermined date, the report says. Hospital officials told GAO auditors they decided for a delay "in order to allow more time to correct problems, such as difficulty managing large numbers of automated laboratory test orders" and to conduct training.