Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER)

See the following -

VA Seeks 7 Percent IT Budget Boost, Passes on Defense Health Record Hosting

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | February 13, 2012

After two years without an increase, the Veterans Affairs Department requested a $3.37 billion information technology budget in 2013, up $216 million, or slightly less than 7 percent, from $3.11 billion in 2012. Just over $2 billion or 62 percent of that budget would be devoted to health care systems deployed to 152 department hospitals. Read More »

VA Seeks A 10 Percent IT Funding Boost In 2014

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | April 11, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department requested $3.7 billion for its 2014 information technology budget -- a 10 percent jump over 2013 spending. W. Todd Grams, the department’s chief financial officer, told a press briefing Wednesday that IT is central to VA’s ability to deliver benefits. Read More »

VA Shifts VLER Work to $12B Contract

Nicole Blake Johnson | Federal Times | February 9, 2012

The Veterans Affairs Department is turning to companies on its $12 billion information technology contract to help develop the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, an initiative to provide veterans and service members with instant electronic access to their health and benefits information and other services.

Read More »

VA Tests Nationwide Health Information Exchange

Ken Terry | Information Week | September 23, 2011

The VA has joined forces with military and private-sector healthcare providers in a pilot project that tests the value of using the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) to share data among providers that care for veterans and active military personnel. Read More »

VA To Add VLER Exchange Communities In 2013

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | October 19, 2012

The Veterans Affairs Department will add over the next year to the 13 regions of the country where VA and Defense Department medical facilities share information with providers in the private sector as part of the virtual lifetime electronic record program (VLER). Read More »

VA to Make National VLER Deployment Decision

Jennifer Prestigiacomo | Healthcare Informatics | October 7, 2011

Some light was shed on the progress that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been making on its Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) project at a National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) webinar earlier this week. Read More »

VA, DoD Get Tighter Leash With iEHR Cash

Erin McCann | Healthcare IT News | January 16, 2014

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill again expressed concern over the botched development and higher-than-expected price tag of creating a seamlessly integrated electronic health record between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, ultimately tacking on project funding restrictions in the House's Omnibus Appropriations Act passed Wednesday afternoon. Read More »

VA, DoD Now Can Share More Sensitive Medical Records

Marla Durben Hirsch | Fierce Health EMR | November 2, 2011

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is loosening a rule that unduly restricts it from sharing information about certain sensitive medical conditions with the Department of Defense (DoD), according to an announcement made by the VA last week. Read More »

VA, DoD To Expand Health Information Exchanges

Nicole Blake Johnson | Federal Times | August 29, 2012

The Veterans Affairs and Defense departments are ready to expand 13 pilot programs and offer veterans’ health information exchanges nationwide. Read More »

VA/DoD Joint Office Gets New Director

Nicole Johnson | Federal Times | March 6, 2012

Former Harris Corp. executive Barclay Butler has been appointed director of the DoD/VA Interagency Program Office (IPO), which oversees the agencies’ integrated electronic health record project and other joint initiatives. Read More »

VA/Private Sector Medical Records Sharing Partnership Completes Phase I

Press Release | Veterans Health Administration | June 5, 2015

In an effort to provide Veterans with more comprehensive care, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System can now view electronic patient records with select health care providers across the region, including UPMC, Butler Health System, ACMH Hospital, Excela Health, Heritage Valley Health System, St. Clair Hospital, Washington Health System, and Presbyterian SeniorCare. The long-awaited and milestone connectivity with ClinicalConnect’s health information exchange (HIE), improves coordination of care and will reduce unnecessary testing for thousands of western Pennsylvania Veterans receiving care from both VA and non-VA providers.

Read More »

Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record Health Program Aims To Improve Continuity Of Care For Veterans

Staff Writer | Santa Rosa's Press Gazette | December 11, 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System and specific community-based medical facilities in Northwest Florida have partnered together to share a limited amount of electronic Veteran patient data securely through the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record health program. Read More »

VistA as an EHR System Core for DoD

Here is a copy of the full text of the proposal submitted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Department of Defense in response to the Request for Information for an electronic health record (EHR) solution that can replace the existing DoD EHR system. This is the approach that makes the most sense as the current core EHR that the Department of Defense (DoD) uses is based on a 30-year-old version of VistA. The current EHR crisis facing DoD stems from the inability to upgrade this older version of VistA. What the VA is proposing is basically an upgrade to DoD's existing core EHR. Read More »

VLER Opens to More Vets in More Places

Molly Merril | Government Health IT | September 9, 2011

The pilot for the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER), which enables sharing of Veterans' health records will be expanded, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday.  Read More »

What EHR Vendors Need To Know About Applying For Upcoming DoD Demos

Tom Sullivan | Government Health IT | October 8, 2013

Nothing like a tight turnaround on a massive tech and consulting project: The DoD on Friday published a notice — albeit neither solicitation nor RFP — revealing that during the week after next it will hold demonstrations essentially courting the EHR to replace its AHLTA. Oh, yes, and applications are due end of October 9, as in tomorrow. Read More »