PENSACOLA, Fla.– The Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System and specific community-based medical facilities in Northwest Florida have partnered together to share a limited amount of electronic Veteran patient data securely through the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record health program.
Veterans who receive care from VA and specific community-based medical facilities in Northwest Florida that have joined the Pensacola Health Information Exchange have to voluntarily opt-in VLER to take advantage of the program’s benefits. Those benefits include reducingthe need for Veterans and families to carry records between health care providers, and allowing their private health care provider to make informed decisions about their care by having access to other medical data, such as a list of health problems, allergies, medications, vital signs, immunizations, and some laboratory test results.
A Veteran’s entire health record is not shared through VLER. However, more information will be shared as the program grows, including doctor’s notes and discharge summaries. The authorization will be in effect for five years, and Veterans can “opt-out” of VLER at any time.
Below is a list of community-based providers who are participating in the Pensacola HIE and will be able to share Veteran patient data with VA (subject to change):
· Baptist Hospital
· Baptist Medical Group
· Gulf Breeze Hospital
· Jay Hospital
· Sacred Heart Hospital
· Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast- Destin
· Sacred Heart on the Gulf Coast- Port St. Joe
· Sacred Heart Medical Group
Source:http://www.the-hie.com/partners.php
Veterans can enroll in VLER in a few ways:
· In person at the Joint Ambulatory Care Center (790 Veterans Way, along Highway 98 West, Pensacola), specifically through the Release of Information office in Alpha section
· By mail
· Via VA’s E-Benefits site: https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal.
Veterans should visit the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System’sVLER website athttp://www.biloxi.va.gov/vlerhealth.aspto download the authorization forms, a fact sheet, and to learn more about the program.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record health program aims to improve continuity of care for Veterans