Google Cloud announced that the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is partnering to help developers implement new tools and applications that will improve Veteran access to VA services and data.
The partnership will enable the VA to scale its Lighthouse API program, which provides access to VA application programming interfaces (APIs) to develop new apps and other data tools, according to the department.
Serving more than 19 million Veterans and their families, the VA is the largest healthcare provider in the United States and manages a network of 170 medical centers and 1,000 outpatient sites.
The VA will also deploy Apigee, Google Cloud’s application programming interface (API) management platform. For example, with Apigee, developers can use the VA’s Benefits API to create applications that help Veterans submit and track electronic benefits claims and add supplemental documentation. Developers can also easily access the VA’s Health APIs to build new online tools that help Veterans manage their health and access their medical records.
“Google Cloud’s Apigee will help the VA to continue scaling the VA Lighthouse API program for third-party developers in a cost-efficient manner, offering veterans more choice in the applications and tools they use to obtain access to their data and services,” said Dave Mazik, director of VA Lighthouse, in a statement.
The VA’s Apigee deployment—built on Apigee’s FedRAMP-authorized platform—will support the department’s existing efforts to safeguard Veteran data, in compliance with standards such as HIPAA regulations and the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard for exchanging healthcare information electronically.
