Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary, and Eric K. Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, agreed to create the unified record system after the Government Accountability Office released a report earlier this year showing the two departments had each spent billions of dollars upgrading their systems but not in a way that improved interoperability or care coordination.
Department officials say the joint system will take several years to develop, though one is currently underway at the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago, which is shared by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments.
Read the news report about the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs health records system.
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