Blog Post

State of the Union Mischaracterizes VA Electronic Medical Records System
Posted by Isabel Black on January 27 2011

IAVA released the following statement in response to the State of the Union address:

“Last night, veterans did not hear a concrete plan of action to tackle the most urgent issues facing our community. We heard nothing on veteran unemployment and nothing on the staggering rates of military and veteran suicides.
 
In addition, the President said, ‘Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.’ This is not true. Contrary to the President’s comment, the only thing a veteran can download from the VA’s system are pharmaceutical records and personal health information that he or she has self-entered. This is a critical distinction.
 
The President’s comments are misleading to service members, veterans and the American public who now think that this system is in place and functional, while it is clearly not. In the last 24 hours, IAVA has heard from hundreds of members who have expressed surprise and outrage that the President could get something so wrong in arguably the most important speech of the year.
 
IAVA requests that the White House set the record straight on the current capacity of the medical records system. This is a crucial step in building trust between the Administration and all veterans across the country. The White House and Congress must also move aggressively to improve the system so it is robust and useful for all veterans,” stated IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff.

 
To learn more about the VA’s online medical records system and the Blue Button Initiative, click here. 

  Share:
 del.icio.us  digg  reddit  facebook  newsvine myspace twitter