Frequently Asked Questions

Launched in April 2020 by the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) office, the joint HIE builds upon the success of the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) HIE work.

The joint HIE is a secure gateway used to connect to participating provider organizations across the United States who agree to securely share clinical information with the DOD, VA, Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) providers. Participating provider organizations include single-physician offices to multi-hospital systems outside the federal health care systems (for example, DOD, VA, USCG and NOAA) that participate in the joint HIE. While the Federal Electronic Health Record is the federal source for a patient's health history, the joint HIE links the EHR information with participating provider organizations.

The joint HIE enhances the ability of DOD, VA, USCG and NOAA providers to access patient electronic health information quickly and securely from participating provider organizations and vice versa. Participating provider organizations now have a single point of entry to request and access DOD, VA, USCG and NOAA patient information to support the continuity of care for Service members, Veterans and other beneficiaries.

The launch of the joint HIE is a critical step forward in significantly expanding DOD, VA, USCG and NOAA partnerships and interoperable capabilities. The FEHRM continues to optimize and expand the joint HIE.

The information shared through the joint HIE includes prescriptions, allergies, illnesses, lab and radiology results, immunizations, past medical procedures and clinical notes.

COVID-19 showed us how important 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 Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) office, Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the joint HIE in the middle of the pandemic. During this critical time, the joint HIE is enhancing the ability of DOD, VA, Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration providers to share patient electronic health information quickly and securely with participating provider organizations.

It’s magical when a patient shows up at a health care system and that system already knows about the patient and what happened in a different health care system and acts like its normal. This is the experience the Departments are building toward.

With 60% of DOD beneficiaries accessing care outside of the federal health care systems, and 30% of VA beneficiaries doing so, DOD and VA have a lot of intersection with outside provider organizations and need to be able to efficiently exchange data.

By combining DOD and VA’s individual HIEs into a single joint HIE, the FEHRM significantly expanded the data available to all clinicians.

A recent expansion to include the CommonWell Health Alliance in the joint HIE brings a nationwide network of more than 15,000 hospitals and clinics to the more than 46,000 community partners already part of the joint HIE.

This means the providers have access to even more information about their patients to make the best care decisions. Learn more about the benefits of the joint HIE to providers and to patients.

Medical records should be visible in the MHS GENESIS patient portal or My HealtheVet patient portal. Additionally, if the outside provider is a member of either the CommonWell or eHealth Exchange network, they have the ability to retrieve DOD, VA, USCG and/or NOAA records.

These networks, comprised of 100,000 members ranging from single-physician offices to multi-hospital systems, participate in the joint health information exchange (HIE). The joint HIE is a secure gateway that connects Federal EHR information with EHR information from participating provider organizations that provide care outside of DOD, VA, USCG or NOAA.

Visit Health.mil for the list of provider organizations who are part of the joint HIE. If a provider organization is not part of the joint EHR, encourage them to join by directing them to the FEHRM website for more information.