House Vet Affairs Committee On Electronic Medical Records
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:08 pm
House Veterans Affairs Committee Electronic Medical Records
NEWS FROM…
CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
335 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
http://veterans.house.gov
For more information contact
Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-9756
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2007
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Sharing of Electronic Medical Records between DoD and VA
Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, led by Chairman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), held a hearing on sharing of electronic medical information between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The main focus of the hearing was to assess the progress made by the agencies in creating, within the next year, web-based viewable access to all DoD and VA electronic medical records by health care provider in both departments.
“DoD and the VA are sharing more and more patients,” said Chairman Mitchell. “A review by the VA’s Inspector General of the 500,000 or so service members who left active duty in fiscal year 2005 shows that 92 percent had an encounter with the military health system while on active duty. In other words, nearly all of the veterans who go to the VA to get medical care will have military medical records that should be available to VA health care providers.”
The hearing began with a video segment about a soldier, Channing Moss, who had a Rocket Propelled Grenade lodged in his body while serving in Afghanistan. As Brigadier General Douglas Robb, former Command Surgeon for CENTCOM, testified, Specialist Moss’ experience illustrates the importance of electronic medical records as his x-rays were available at military medical centers before he arrived as a patient. The video can be accessed at this site: http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia ... g_surgery/.
Panelists consisted of DoD and VA clinicians and IT experts who discussed current efforts taking place in DoD and VA facilities across the country to accomplish the goal of sharing electronic medical records. These witnesses testified that the goal of fully viewable shared electronic medical records is eminently achievable within a short time frame.
“In the first 100 days of this Congress, some serious issues were brought to light regarding the transition of service members from the Department of Defense to the VA,” said Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “This subcommittee immediately went to work to examine systematic difficulties in the sharing of electronic patient health information, failure to implement effective patient tracking programs and a lack of urgency to address and correct these shortcomings. Recent progress leads me to be optimistic, however, I will continue to hold oversight hearings to ensure accountability and to institute an effective continuum of care that our veterans need and deserve.”
Senior health officials at DoD and VA testified about the need to quickly implement what service members need: seamless exchange of medical information between the departments responsible for provide health care to active duty service members and veterans. Members of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee expressed disapproval with the lack of action in the past and discussed a realistic timeline and specific goals for achieving fully viewable shared electronic medical records.
“This issue continues to be of the utmost importance for providing what our service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq deserve and have every right to expect,” said Chairman Mitchell. “I am pleased to hear that the DoD and VA have made more progress in the past 12 to 18 months than they made in the preceding decade. Vigorous oversight on the transfer of critical patient information will continue.”
The opening statements of all the witnesses are available on the Committee website at http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hear ... newsid=142.
Panel 1
· Brigadier General Douglas J. Robb, M.D., Commander, 81st Medical Wing, Keesler Air Force Base
Panel 2
· Valerie Melvin, Director, Human Capital & Management Information Systems Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office
· Barbara Oliver, Assistant Director, Human Capital & Management Information Systems Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Panel 3
· Colonel Keith Salzman, M.D., M.P. H., Chief, Informatics Division, Western Regional Medical Command/Madigan Army Medical Center, U.S. Department of Defense
· Lieutenant Commander James L. Martin, 00I – Regional Info System Officer, Military Sealift Command, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense
· Howard B. Green, P.M. P., Deputy Director, Health Project Management Office, Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Colonel Gregory Andre Marinkovich, M.D., Data Management Product Line Functional Manager, Clinical Information Technology Program Office (CITPO), U.S. Department of Defense
Panel 4
· Gerald M. Cross, M.D., Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Paul Tibbits, M.D., Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of Enterprise Development, Office of Information & Technology (OI&T), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Cliff Freeman, Director VA/DOD Interagency Programs, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Stephen Jones, D.H. A., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense
· Charles Campbell, Acting Chief Information Officer, TRICARE Management Activity, U.S. Department of Defense
· Colonel David Gilbertson, Program Manager, Clinical Information Technology Program Office (CITPO), U.S. Department of Defense
NEWS FROM…
CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
335 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
http://veterans.house.gov
For more information contact
Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-9756
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2007
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Sharing of Electronic Medical Records between DoD and VA
Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, led by Chairman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), held a hearing on sharing of electronic medical information between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The main focus of the hearing was to assess the progress made by the agencies in creating, within the next year, web-based viewable access to all DoD and VA electronic medical records by health care provider in both departments.
“DoD and the VA are sharing more and more patients,” said Chairman Mitchell. “A review by the VA’s Inspector General of the 500,000 or so service members who left active duty in fiscal year 2005 shows that 92 percent had an encounter with the military health system while on active duty. In other words, nearly all of the veterans who go to the VA to get medical care will have military medical records that should be available to VA health care providers.”
The hearing began with a video segment about a soldier, Channing Moss, who had a Rocket Propelled Grenade lodged in his body while serving in Afghanistan. As Brigadier General Douglas Robb, former Command Surgeon for CENTCOM, testified, Specialist Moss’ experience illustrates the importance of electronic medical records as his x-rays were available at military medical centers before he arrived as a patient. The video can be accessed at this site: http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia ... g_surgery/.
Panelists consisted of DoD and VA clinicians and IT experts who discussed current efforts taking place in DoD and VA facilities across the country to accomplish the goal of sharing electronic medical records. These witnesses testified that the goal of fully viewable shared electronic medical records is eminently achievable within a short time frame.
“In the first 100 days of this Congress, some serious issues were brought to light regarding the transition of service members from the Department of Defense to the VA,” said Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “This subcommittee immediately went to work to examine systematic difficulties in the sharing of electronic patient health information, failure to implement effective patient tracking programs and a lack of urgency to address and correct these shortcomings. Recent progress leads me to be optimistic, however, I will continue to hold oversight hearings to ensure accountability and to institute an effective continuum of care that our veterans need and deserve.”
Senior health officials at DoD and VA testified about the need to quickly implement what service members need: seamless exchange of medical information between the departments responsible for provide health care to active duty service members and veterans. Members of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee expressed disapproval with the lack of action in the past and discussed a realistic timeline and specific goals for achieving fully viewable shared electronic medical records.
“This issue continues to be of the utmost importance for providing what our service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq deserve and have every right to expect,” said Chairman Mitchell. “I am pleased to hear that the DoD and VA have made more progress in the past 12 to 18 months than they made in the preceding decade. Vigorous oversight on the transfer of critical patient information will continue.”
The opening statements of all the witnesses are available on the Committee website at http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hear ... newsid=142.
Panel 1
· Brigadier General Douglas J. Robb, M.D., Commander, 81st Medical Wing, Keesler Air Force Base
Panel 2
· Valerie Melvin, Director, Human Capital & Management Information Systems Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office
· Barbara Oliver, Assistant Director, Human Capital & Management Information Systems Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Panel 3
· Colonel Keith Salzman, M.D., M.P. H., Chief, Informatics Division, Western Regional Medical Command/Madigan Army Medical Center, U.S. Department of Defense
· Lieutenant Commander James L. Martin, 00I – Regional Info System Officer, Military Sealift Command, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense
· Howard B. Green, P.M. P., Deputy Director, Health Project Management Office, Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Colonel Gregory Andre Marinkovich, M.D., Data Management Product Line Functional Manager, Clinical Information Technology Program Office (CITPO), U.S. Department of Defense
Panel 4
· Gerald M. Cross, M.D., Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Paul Tibbits, M.D., Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of Enterprise Development, Office of Information & Technology (OI&T), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Cliff Freeman, Director VA/DOD Interagency Programs, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Stephen Jones, D.H. A., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense
· Charles Campbell, Acting Chief Information Officer, TRICARE Management Activity, U.S. Department of Defense
· Colonel David Gilbertson, Program Manager, Clinical Information Technology Program Office (CITPO), U.S. Department of Defense