**GAO-08-954**                      Published: Jul 28, 2008. Publicly Released: Jul 28, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

Under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are required to accelerate the exchange of health information between the departments and to develop systems or capabilities that allow for full interoperability (generally, the ability of systems to use data that are exchanged) and that are compliant with federal standards. The act also established a joint interagency program office to act as a single point of accountability for the effort, whose function is to implement such systems or capabilities by September 30, 2009. Further, the act required that GAO semi-annually report on the progress made in achieving these goals. For this first report, GAO describes the departments' progress to date in sharing electronic health information, developing electronic health records that comply with federal standards, and setting up the joint interagency program office. To do so, GAO reviewed its past work, analyzed agency documentation, and conducted interviews with agency officials.

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## Topics

Veterans

Data collectionData integrityData storageData transmissionElectronic data interchangeElectronic health recordsGovernment information disseminationHealth care programsInformation disclosureInformation technologyInteragency relationsInteroperabilityMedical information systemsMedical recordsProgram evaluationRecordsRecords managementReporting requirementsStandardsStandards evaluationStrategic planningInformation sharingProgram goals or objectivesProgram implementation