Cleveland Clinic and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will link their medical records beginning in February.
The connection will create more complete medical records for the more than 1,800 patients who receive care from both the Cleveland Clinic and VA facilities. The VA has been pushing to enroll more hospitals nationwide in its Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record to improve outcomes for patients who receive care from VA hospitals and outside hospitals, according to Crain's Cleveland Business.
The connection will link Cleveland Clinic's Care Everywhere HIE, developed by Epic, to the VA's network so its facilities can access the patients' records anywhere in the country, according to the report.
"Expansion of our HIE allows for seamless sharing of clinical information between our two organizations resulting in better care for our veterans," said Robert White, MD, associate chief medical information officer.