Overview

The Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) project is an information technology initiative to improve service to disabled veterans by promoting efficient communication between the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Online access to medical data enhances the timeliness of the benefits determination. Previous attempts to automate this process were hindered by the "roll and scroll" nature of the VHA computer interface of the Automated Medical Information Exchange (AMIE) II. The CAPRI software acts as a bridge between the VBA and VHA information systems. It offers VBA Rating Veteran Service Representatives and Decision Review Officers help in building the rating decision documentation through online access to medical data. It also offers VHA Compensation and Pension (C&P) staff an easy, standardized way of recording C&P Examination reports.

 

CAPRI provides VBA employees with a standardized, user-friendly method to rapidly access veterans' electronic medical records throughout the Veterans Administration (VA). CAPRI delivers leading edge "point and click" technology to the users' desktops. In addition, the learning curve for CAPRI is significantly less than that for character-based systems. CAPRI builds upon existing VHA information security approaches. In addition to using established mechanisms to ensure only authorized access to medical data, CAPRI adds a level of security by allowing VBA users to read but not alter electronic medical record information. CAPRI also provides innovative improvements for medical centers by integrating highly detailed Compensation and Pension Rating examination results into the veterans' medical records. Previously, these reports were not retained online in medical center computer systems but were archived onto paper. This procedure precluded the sharing of clinically useful data.

 

Initially developed specifically for VBA, the utility of CAPRI has been expanded to other user groups that include VHA, Office of the Medical Inspector, Office of Information (OI), Research, and Veteran Service Officers. Recently, most of the newest features of CAPRI are specifically targeted at adding features to be used by VHA C&P providers and staff.