Originally published: 2026-06-08T16:00:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs on Saturday deployed the new Federal Electronic Health Record system at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Chillicothe VA Medical Center, Dayton VA Medical Center, and the Cincinnati VA Medical Center-Fort Thomas.
This is the second wave of successful EHR deployments in 2026 under VA’s accelerated schedule, which will provide more connected, efficient and patient-centered experiences.
With this launch, more than 107,000 Veterans and 7,200 VA clinicians and staff in the southern Ohio region will 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- Medical appointments where VA doctors and nurses spend more time with patients and less time struggling with outdated technology.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.
“Joe Biden’s VA let this important effort sit nearly dormant for almost two years,” said VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence, Ph.D. “Under President Trump, however, we are rapidly expanding this modern EHR system throughout the department to improve experiences for both Veterans and VA employees.”
The Biden Administration put the EHR project on hold after it encountered problems with its early rollout. But the Trump Administration got the project back on track 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 reach 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 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 to help with the rollout in Michigan, Ohio and other locations and is in the process of hiring a total of 400 people.
Last weekend’s effort built on the success of VA’s first wave of deployments in Michigan in April 2026, which brought the system to over 200,000 Veterans and over 10,000 clinicians and staff — nearly doubling VA’s user base. Feedback from clinical users and local leadership in Michigan has been exceptionally positive.
Under VA’s accelerated schedule, the following additional EHR deployments will take place this year:
August 2026:
- Fort Wayne VA Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- Marion VAMC in Marion, Indiana.
- Richard L. Roudebush VAMC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
October 2026:
- Alaska VA Healthcare System in Anchorage, Alaska.
- Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC in Cleveland, Ohio.
For more information about the EHRM program and the Federal EHR, visit https://digital.va.gov/ehr-modernization.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
