Serious innovation from the VA

Over the last two years or so, the Department of Veterans Affairs has
been doing some seriously innovative work on behalf of the troops. I’ve
seen this firsthand, focusing on efforts like working at the
grassroots worker level and with private-industry vendors. This really
does serve vets better, and looks like taxpayers get better return for
tax dollars.

VA is also using social media to help vets understand how VA can help, in forms including the VA blog and outreach via social media including Facebook.

They keep doing serious stuff, having just announced a competition
to get the vets’ Blue Button installed on doctors’ systems. The Blue
Button works with a vet’s health records, and the competition is about
building personal health records and getting them installed in doctors’
systems.

The
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it is offering a
$50,000 prize to the first team that builds a personal health record
(PHR) using the Blue Button? download format, and arranges to install
the PHR on the websites of 25,000 physicians across America. Sponsored
by the VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2), the Blue Button Prize
Competition is open to all U.S. organizations and individuals. The
contest starts on July 18.

“Over six million Veterans who receive health care from VA can already
download their personal health data using the Blue Button,” said VA
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “We want to be sure the 17 million Veterans
who receive care from non-VA doctors and hospitals can do the same.”

VA first offered Blue Button downloads through its My HealtheVet
website in August, 2010; since then nearly 300,000 Veterans have
downloaded their PHR data, including upcoming appointments at a VA
Medical Center, medications, allergies, health reminders and, in a
recent upgrade, their laboratory results.

This is for real, with the VA moving ahead fast to better serve the troops, who’ve more than earned it.