Modernized healthcare records that can seamlessly exchange medical data has been in the works for the Veterans Affairs and Defense department.
In recent announcement, the VA departments said they will take several more years to develop modernized electronic health records systems.
The departments expected to accomplish that goal in 2011 or 2012, but they have not given the Government Accountability Office a certain end date because of changes to the milestone schedule.
The ability to exchange medical data would speed treatment for injured warfighters returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, especially those who suffer from traumatic brain injuries.
DOD and VA can exchange only limited categories of medical data because the data-sharing initiative is taking longer than anticipated.
The effort bogged down because of a lack of effective project requirements and management, said Valerie Melvin, director of GAOs workforce and management information systems issues.
As a result, DOD and VA have worked on developing the capability to share medical data for 23 years.
Since 1998, the GAO has been monitoring the agencies data.
Congressional oversight, however, has been critical to moving the departments forward as far as it has, she told the House Veterans Affairs Committees Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee.
Project delays have resulted from a repeated change in milestones and lack of clarity.
The medical data-sharing initiative needs a more defined timeline and risk-management activities
At the same time, VA and DOD are continuing to modernize and integrate their individual electronic medical record systems.
DOD and VA say that by the end of this year, they will be able to share major elements of an electronic medical record as part of the Bi-Directional Health Information Exchange.
The departments are exchanging electronic medical data such as pharmacy, pathology, blood work, lab and radiology text reports that is viewable and computable on shared patients at seven locations, said Gerald Cross, VAs acting principal deputy undersecretary for health.
Next month, VA and DOD will share added capabilities that they had been pilot testing to all sites for sharing digital images and patient narrative text documents, such as discharge summaries.
Furthermore, the DOD has already transferred data for 3.8 million service members to the VA.
This gives the VA the ability to now track injured service members more effectively as they move through the medical care system.
This is possible with the implementation of as version of DODs Joint Tracking Application case management system that rolled out last month.
Access to DODs tracking system was a major issue that came out of revelations of poor treatment of injured warfighters at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The system provides medical data from the point of injury in the field through VA and DOD health care.
VA secretary Jim Nicholson created a 17-member panel to work on ways to improve care for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Separately, House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) said he planned to increase VA oversight.