government
Defense EMR access shut down by VA after glitches
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 15, 2010
According to a patient safety alert issued March 3 by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, glitches in a computerized patient record system caused many VA physicians to download incomplete or inaccurate patient information from the network maintained by the Dept. of Defense.
As a result, all access to Defense Dept. electronic records through the system was disabled March 1 by the VA, which initially stated it did not know when full system capability would be restored. The department directed chief medical officers at all VA facilities to establish contingency plans and request Defense Dept. medical information via phone, fax or paper records.
A copy of the VA alert is available online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/03/15/gvbf0315.htm.












