Electronic Health Record (EHR) Data Interoperability

For healthcare, interoperability describes the extent to which different information technology (IT) systems and applications communicate, exchange data, and use the information processed from that data. At the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), electronic health record (EHR) initiation interoperability is highlighted through Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM); it is the transition from a legacy patient data system to one where there is greater coordination to access, exchange, and cooperatively use data with the goal of optimizing the health of Veterans, within and across VA divisions. Simply put, interoperability at VA requires delivering the right data, at the right time, to the right healthcare professional, to provide the quality of care that Veterans expect and deserve.