The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) have launched a joint review of transition programs, aiming to fix outdated systems and boost interagency coordination.
In a pre-recorded video message posted on Wednesday to X, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new initiative is focused on improving the transition process.
“There has been a disconnect between our departments for too long,” Collins said. “Our unified efforts will break down barriers and better serve those who served. This is just the beginning.”
“Those who raise their right hand [to join the military], we train them, we equip them, we prepare them, we turn them into warfighters,” Hegseth said. “But then when they move into the civilian world, that transition has to happen properly, carefully, thoughtfully, so that we follow through on the promise of what they deserve.”
While no specific reforms were detailed, the secretaries stressed the need to close long-standing gaps in care and communication.
A memo released with the announcement outlined three key priorities for the initiative: optimizing healthcare resources, personnel, and infrastructure; ensuring uninterrupted access to care; and providing consistent, compassionate mental health support for transitioning service members.
This focus signals that one of the central targets of the review could be the troubled Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program, which was intended to ensure a seamless, paperless transfer of medical records as service members move from DoD care to VA facilities. Despite its intended purpose, officials acknowledge the system continues to fall short of providing a fully integrated healthcare experience for veterans.
Lawmakers have repeatedly pressed both departments on the ongoing shortcomings of the EHRM system. At a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing last month, Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, criticized the lack of progress.
“I want the DoD and the VA to make it completely seamless for the service members to move into the veteran space,” Rep. Luttrell said. “Have all that information transmit or transfer without any effort whatsoever from the veteran.”
During that same hearing, Katie Arrington, the DoD’s acting chief information officer and an early contributor to the EHRM initiative, acknowledged the program’s failings. “It absolutely does not work,” she said bluntly.
Still, Arrington expressed cautious optimism. She highlighted ongoing foundational work to close the data transfer gap, particularly through the introduction of standardized data practices.
“We are creating data standards, data labeling, and data tagging that have never been used before in the department,” she said. “So, data in one disparate source [can] be tagged and labeled in a way that it can transverse from the DoD to the VA.”
The new review is expected to be a multi-phase initiative, with further updates and possible policy proposals expected in the coming months.