If you are a veteran discharged prior to 2002, then you may not be aware of the partnership now in existence between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD).  These once separate entities now share health information between their unique Electronic Health Record systems.

The VA’s computerized system is known as the VistA CPRS (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture/Computerized Patient Record System), and they have been working together with the DoD’s Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA, formerly known as CHCS II) to share information for nearly a decade.

The concept of shared information has improved clinical efficiencies and health care outcomes for both entities.  Veterans and active duty Service members can now receive needed health care without having to endure the unnecessary “duplication” of medical tests.  Thanks to modern technology, both VA and DoD clinicians can quickly review important health data from each other’s facilities.

The VA and DoD now share the following health information:

*Admission, disposition, and transfer data *Allergy data *Clinical theater data *Consults *Deployment Health Assessments *Drug and food allergy data *Laboratory orders and results *Outpatient pharmacy data *Patient demographics *Progress notes *Radiology reports *Vital signs data

Future plans include the development of a Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) to ultimately share benefit, personnel, and health data from the start of a recruit’s military service through their transition to Veteran status and for the remainder of their life.

If you are a veteran who has NOT registered with the new electronic system (My HealtheVet), then please visit the following website to

register TODAY: www.myhealth.va.gov

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VA and DoD to Pursue Joint Electronic Health Record