Bringing the Federal Electronic Health Record to VA

Deployments are underway  

VA Deputy Secretary Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D., recently visited the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System as part of his tour of VA facilities in the process of bringing the new Federal Electronic Health Record Management (FEHRM) system online.

View the On The Road With Dr. Paul Lawrence video to hear firsthand about his visit to the Marion and Fort Wayne VA Medical Centers, where he met with leadership teams, super users and pharmacy teams to discuss preparations for the Federal Electronic Health Record deployment in 2026.

While at Marion and Fort Wayne VA Medical Centers, Lawrence met with both Veterans, Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 and local executive leadership, FEHRM Super Users, and FEHRM Change Leadership Team. He also toured pharmacies on both campuses, learning how the Electronic Health Record (EHR) transition is progressing in that service.

Progress updates on the FEHRM system implementation

As VA Deputy Secretary, it’s Lawrence’s job to direct policy and operations while ensuring coordinated action and compliance with the Secretary’s directives, and one of his chief goals is to ensure the smooth transition to the new FEHRM system.

The new, common FEHRM will provide a single, accurate, lifetime health record for Veterans, which will include their health records from the Department of Defense (DoD), Coast Guard and other federal partners.

For Veterans, this will result in improved standardization of health care delivery, patient care quality and safety. The modernized EHR also supports a more coordinated experience for VA staff and clinicians as they care for Veterans while improving interoperability with the rest of the American health care system.

The main objective of Lawrence’s visits is to hear from those with boots on the ground about how the transition is going and what challenges they face, along with their successes, to be shared with other facilities soon to face the change.

The FEHRM connects with over 90% of U.S. hospitals and more than 100,000 participating provider organizations through the joint Health Information Exchange (HIE), including the CareQuality platform.

Launched in partnership with DoD and the FEHRM office in April 2020, the joint HIE allows providers to quickly and securely access patient data from participating community partners and health systems. It is expected that the FEHRM will be completely deployed at all VA medical centers as early as 2031.

This article was originally published on the VA Northern Indiana Health care System site and has been edited for style and clarity.