Electronic Health Records

Sep 23 2008

Kaiser Permanente, U.S. Veterans Affairs Preview Electronic Health Record Data Exchange to Enable Better Health Care

Kaiser Permanente and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showed Tuesday how they and other private sector health providers can seamlessly share information over an interoperable health information exchange.

Kaiser Permanente collaborated with the VA in a unique "wounded warrior" test demonstration of the Nationwide Health Information Network. The test showed how physicians could safely and securely share a fictional soldier's sample medical history across multiple electronic health record systems, such as Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect™ and the VA's VistAWeb, to inform medical decisions and deliver high-quality care regardless of location or where the health record originated.

With KP HealthConnect™, all of Kaiser Permanente's 14,000-plus physicians have electronic access to their patients' medical records in every one of Kaiser Permanente's 421 medical offices and clinics. Kaiser Permanente's 8.7 million members have access to My Health Manager – Kaiser Permanente's personal health record — where they can manage their health online. KP HealthConnect™ is the world's largest civilian electronic medical record system. VistAWeb, one of the largest electronic health interfaces in the world, is used throughout the VA's more than 1,400 points of care.

The demonstration between KP HealthConnect™ and the Veterans Administration, thus, was an exchange between two of the largest medical record systems in the world.

For more information, read this press release.