Veterans Affairs plans to have its hospital clinicians start using a VA version of the DOD Joint Patient Tracking Application on Monday to keep tabs on wounded warriors evacuated from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Bob Brewin of Government Executive. Edward Huycke, VA’s chief DOD coordination officer, told Brewin that all of VA’s 154 hospitals and more than 800 clinics will be able to review DOD medical records through the new Web-based Veterans Tracking Application. VA announced earlier this year that the two departments were developing a common electronic health record system. Lawmakers have expressed mounting skepticism that VA and DOD would ever share such data.
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.