VA Secretary Shinseki and new Defense Secretary Hagel pledge to meet soon to discuss their "desire to build on the strong partnership between the two departments."
In an unusual twist, the VA reacted to a DoD request for information by suggesting its long-standing VistA electronic health records systems. But the DoD insists it must evaluate VistA as it would any EHR acquisition.
Responding to a challenge from the department Secretaries, the DoD and VA outline tweaks to their iEHR strategy that intend to advance exchange and interoperability by early next year.