An 'Open Enough' E-Health Record

Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, said he wants the Military Health System to develop an electronic health record that's "open enough" to exchange data with civilian clinicians who provide care to military personnel and their families under the Defense Department's TRICARE health insurance plan.

Schoomaker, testifying before the Military Personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, said such a system would ensure the exchange of clinical information between clinicians working in military treatment facilities and off-post providers. It also should be compatible with the Veterans Affairs Department's electronic health record system, he said.

The Army's top doc added that while the Military Health System has "been talking about creating a comprehensive [electronic health record] for a decade, and poured a tremendous amount of money into it. . . . Our providers continue to be frustrated by the slow and cumbersome process of improving the system and making it easier to use at the provider-patient interfaces."

I know that repeating criticisms of the Defense AHLTA (maybe not a noun) electronic health record is like beating a dead horse, but one does wonder when the information technology shop at the Military Health System will stop promising improvements and instead deliver them.