VA deploys electronic health record system to three hospitals in Indiana

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs on Saturday deployed the Federal Electronic Health Record system at three VA hospitals in Indiana – the Northern Indiana Health Care System’s hospitals in Fort Wayne and Marion, and the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. The system was also deployed at 16 clinics associated with those medical centers throughout Indiana.

VA has deployed the Federal EHR at 11 hospitals so far this year under VA’s accelerated schedule. These deployments mean more than 617,000 Veterans and 35,000 VA clinicians and staff across the U.S. are using the new system and providing more connected, efficient, and patient-centered experiences for Veterans.

The rollout in Indiana means more than 102,000 Veterans and 6,000 staff will now benefit from:

• The seamless, hassle-free transfer of military health records among VA, Department of War and other federal partners.
• The integration of health information from private sector facilities into VA’s care for Veterans.
• Medical appointments that enable VA doctors and nurses to spend more time with patients and less time struggling with technology.
• Less time undergoing duplicative tests because prior test results can’t be found.
• An increased ability of VA facilities to share best medical practices with each other.
• Improved continuity of care when Veterans transfer among facilities or need emergency care at facilities they’ve never visited.

“VA has now deployed this modern EHR system at 11 hospitals in 2026 — nearly doubling the number of deployments seen in the previous five years,” said VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence, Ph.D. “The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring every medical facility across VA has this critical system by 2031 to improve experiences for both Veterans and VA employees.”

During the Biden Administration, this crucial project was nearly dormant for almost two years, but under President Trump the effort is now back on track. The Trump Administration’s VA got there by:

• Fixing hundreds of problems related to the initial rollout of the EHR system at the six original VA sites. Some of these related to efforts by local VA facilities to customize the system, which only complicated the process. Saturday’s rollout focuses on a standardized system that will put all VA facilities on the same page and remove the complexities that caused delays.
• Eliminating the bureaucracy that was holding the project back. Under the Biden Administration, decisions related to EHR modernization were left to several councils that fought among themselves and held up key decisions. VA replaced that unwieldy system with a single council that answers to top VA leaders, increasing accountability and making it easier to find and implement common sense decisions.
• Getting local facilities more involved. As VA’s lead official on the EHR rollout, VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence has visited all 13 deployment sites planned for this year and has engaged directly with facility leaders at each location to answer questions and make sure these sites are ready to go.
• Hiring more people to ensure the rollout goes smoothly. VA has already hired dozens of staff, with plans for more, to help with the rollout across the country.

Last weekend’s effort built on the success of VA’s deployments in Michigan in April and in southern Ohio and Kentucky in June. Under VA’s accelerated schedule, the final EHR deployments in 2026 are scheduled for October in these locations:

• Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage, Alaska)
• Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC (Cleveland, Ohio)

For more information about the EHRM program and the Federal EHR, visit https://digital.va.gov/ehr-modernization.