Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Program Office

DOD and VA share a common mission to support a lifetime of high-quality health care for service members, Veterans, and their families.

In support of this mission, the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) program office, chartered in December 2019, works closely with the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other partners to implement a single, common electronic health record (EHR) that enhances patient care and provider effectiveness, wherever care is provided. An EHR is software used to securely document, store, retrieve, share, and analyze information about individual patient care. It enables a digital version of a patient’s health record.

The FEHRM is achieving its mission by:

Actively managing risks and the operation of the joint Federal Data Center, where all federal health data resides
Minimizing risk to EHR deployment and implementation
Identifying opportunities for efficiency, standardization, and system and process optimization
Advancing interoperability across the federal and private sectors

A Single, Common EHR Improves Care By:

Enabling comprehensive patient data, whether recorded by a DOD, VA or private sector provider, to be readily available wherever care is provided — the more patient data clinicians have, the more informed care they can deliver to their patients.
Minimizing the number of times patients need to share their health histories, undergo duplicative tests, or manage printed health records.
Creating seamless integration of DOD, VA, and private sector health care data to achieve improved joint visibility of health status for service members and Veterans.
Helping ensure more efficient, safer care, and a better patient experience.

The FEHRM is Driving Solutions for a Single, Common EHR

As federal organizations, beginning with DOD, VA, and the U.S. Coast Guard, modernize their EHR together, the FEHRM is driving solutions that move the joint EHR modernization effort forward within the federal space. No other health care organization in the world is attempting something of this scale and complexity, and the FEHRM is dedicated to getting it right for service members, Veterans, and their families.

In April 2020, the FEHRM launched the joint health information exchange (HIE), a critical step forward in the journey toward EHR modernization and interoperability — meaning DOD, VA, and private sector systems can exchange and use data between them.

Building upon the success of DOD’s and VA’s health information exchange work, the joint HIE is an enhanced network of private sector providers across the United States who have agreed to securely share clinical information with DOD and VA providers. The joint HIE enhances the ability of DOD and VA providers to quickly and securely access patient electronic health information from participating private sector providers and vice versa to help providers make more informed treatment decisions.

Such digital sharing of data also helps minimize the number of times patients need to share their health histories, undergo duplicative tests or manage printed health records. While the single, common EHR is the federal source for a patient’s health history, the joint HIE is what links the federal EHR information to the private sector EHR information. Visit the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record Health Information Exchange Initiative (VLER HIE) and Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE) webpages for more information.

The FEHRM's continued efforts with EHR modernization and the joint HIE is transforming health care delivery for service members, Veterans, and their families. With experts in analytics, clinical care, information technology, and training, the FEHRM is driving federal solutions for more efficient, safer care and a better health care experience for all.

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