Frequently Asked Questions

Chartered in December 2019, the FEHRM works within the federal space to implement a single, common Federal EHR that enhances patient care and provider effectiveness. The FEHRM unites efforts and delivers common capabilities that enable the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other federal agencies to deploy the Federal EHR. Common capabilities refer to common solutions, tools, and activities identified as needed to effectively deploy the Federal EHR.

The common capabilities the FEHRM delivers in support of the Federal EHR include managing the Federal Enclave; managing the joint health information exchange; leading analysis and integration of deployment activities at joint sharing sites; overseeing EHR configuration and content changes; providing software updates and solutions; tracking joint risks, issues, and opportunities as well as lessons learned; maintaining an integrated master schedule; and advancing interoperability.

These capabilities are also helping to drive federal solutions to support effective health care delivery within the federal space that puts patients in the center. Through the FEHRM’s contributions and solutions, federal agencies like DOD, VA, USCG, and NOAA can lead the deployment of the Federal EHR.

Visit the What is the FEHRM section of the FEHRM website to learn more about the FEHRM.

DOD, VA, Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are all implementing the same single, common Federal EHR. DOD, USCG, and NOAA named the EHR MHS GENESIS, while VA refers to it as the Federal EHR. However, the Federal EHR is the same single instance of the commercial product (Oracle Health Millennium) the Departments purchased. The Departments are not developing different custom systems.

With that, DOD and VA are given a certain amount of flexibility to configure the Federal EHR differently to meet specific facilities’ needs while still maintaining interoperability between the Departments. Regardless, they are using the same instance of the Federal EHR.

The Departments purchased a commercial product (Oracle Health Millennium) and must first maximize the solutions available within the product. Occasionally, elements of the core product require configuration changes to meet departmental or business requirements.

Through established governance and change control processes, DOD and VA sites can each request configuration changes (e.g., add, edit, or remove user roles, workflows, and other configuration items, such as interfaces, forms, assessments, and scales) as long as these changes do not undermine interoperability between the Departments. Approved changes are implemented within the Federal EHR, and any Departments using the EHR have access to these changes.

The FEHRM focuses primarily on determining ways to converge EHR configurations to streamline the patient and provider experience between the Departments. The goal is to ensure providers have a common user experience defined by evidence-based best practices, and patients have a consistent care experience, regardless of where they get care.

The IPO served as a successful coordinating body providing measurable impact on setting health data standards for the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. It no longer exists. The FEHRM’s mission—to implement a single, common Federal EHR to enhance patient care and provider effectiveness, wherever care is provided—is much more expansive than the IPO's mission. The FEHRM has a broader focus and more authority than the IPO had.

The FEHRM's Director and Deputy Director report to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The FEHRM Charter and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA FY2020) give the FEHRM decision-making authority within the joint space. The NDAA FY2020 specifies that the FEHRM "shall carry our decision-making authority delegated to the Office by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affair with respect to the definition, coordination, and management of functional, technical, and programmatic activities that are joint used, carried out, and shared by the Departments."

The implementation of a single, common Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a massive transformation with multiple cabinet-level offices involved, and it will not succeed with a command-and-control approach. Instead, the FEHRM works through collaboration, facilitation, consensus building, and the commitment of its partners to provide the best health care experience for patients and providers.

If there is an irrevocable dispute, then the FEHRM will execute its authority and act as an arbiter as needed. However, the FEHRM has created an environment, including collaborative processes, procedures, and forums, to enable joint decision-making and issue resolution at the lowest possible levels.

A single, common Federal EHR means the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other partners will be able to document care from the time a Service member enters the military through their care as a Veteran in one, complete patient health record. This record will be accessible to DOD, VA, USCG, NOAA, and participating provider organizations and, of course, to patients themselves.

To effectively deliver health care and benefits to our beneficiaries, DOD, VA, USCG, and NOAA need to be able to access a patient's longitudinal health record. The separate, legacy EHR systems are outdated and unable to create a seamless care experience as provided by the Federal EHR.

Having a Federal EHR among DOD, VA, USCG, and NOAA puts patients at the center. It allows the Departments and other partners to achieve the following:

• Support Service members from the time they join the military through their care as a Veteran in one, complete patient health record that the patient can access—enabling an integrated, patient-centered continuum of care.
• Access data, such as service treatment records, Service medals and honors, housing status, and other information, to ensure a transitioning Veteran receives all the benefits they have earned in a seamless, timely fashion.
• Minimize the number of times patients need to share their health histories, undergo duplicative tests, or manage printed health records.
• Enable comprehensive patient data, whether recorded by a DOD, VA, USCG, NOAA, or participating provider organizations, to be readily available wherever care is provided—the more patient data clinicians have, the more informed care they can deliver to their patients.

Patient data is owned by the patient. Patients have the right to access their personal health record. They retain control over their own health data.

The Departments are implementing the same single, common Federal EHR. DOD, USCG, and NOAA call the Federal EHR MHS GENESIS, while VA use other names for the Federal EHR. However, they are deploying, using, and updating the same Federal EHR. If one Department adds new capabilities to the Federal EHR, the other Departments have access to the same capabilities.

The FEHRM relies heavily on providers outside of the federal health care systems (for example, the Department of Defense [DOD]; Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]; Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Coast Guard [USCG] and Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]) to provide health care to Service members, Veterans, and their families. In April 2020, the FEHRM launched the joint health information exchange to enhance data sharing between DOD, VA, USCG, NOAA, and participating provider organizations.

COVID-19 showed us how important such efficient electronic health information sharing is for clinicians on the front lines. The more information they have about their patients, the better they can meet their needs.

The FEHRM also works closely with federal and standards organizations and private-sector partners to advance interoperability standards that enable the exchange of information across all sectors of industry and government.