Health care reform shorts: Data exchange

Best news of the day:

VA, Kaiser to exchange digital patient data
The Veterans Affairs Department will begin exchanging patient medical records this month with Kaiser Permanente as part of a demonstration of large-scale health data exchange, agency officials announced.

The pilot program connects Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect and the VA's electronic health record system (EHR), known as VistA, two of the largest electronic health record systems in the country.

The VA is participating in a dialogue with industry on the possibility of making VistA available to the private sector.

Federal Computer Week

Experts seem to agree that the VA has the best data system currently available. And as a Kaiser patient, I can testify that the system's medical records capacity is wonderful and avoids all sorts of potential for error. When a doctor needs to know what tests you've had and what drugs you take, it is all there. If you are in any other system, think of the time that would save ...

H/t Craig Newmark's twitterfeed -- [down as I post this.]