[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 14 (Monday, January 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6975-6979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01516]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health 
Administration (VHA).

ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e), 
notice is hereby given that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is 
amending the system of records currently entitled ``Virtual Lifetime 
Electronic Record (VLER)-VA'' (168VA10P2) as set forth in the Federal 
Register 77 FR 27859. VA is amending the system of records by revising 
the System Name; System Number; System Location; System Manager; 
Purpose; Categories of Individuals Covered by the System; Category of 
Records in the System; Records Source Category; Routine Uses of Records 
Maintained in the System; Policies and Practices for Storage of 
Records; Policies and Practices for Retrievability of Records; Policies 
and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records; Administrative, 
Technical, and Physical Safeguards; and Record Access Procedure. VA is 
republishing the system notice in its entirety.

DATES: Comments on the amendment of this system of records must be 
received no later than February 24, 2021. If no public comment is 
received during the period allowed for comment or unless otherwise 
published in the Federal Register by VA, the amended system will become 
effective February 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through 
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulation 
Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026 (not a toll-free number). Comments should indicate that they 
are submitted in response to Health Information Exchange (HIE)-VA. 
Copies of comments received will be available for public inspection in 
the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the 
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except 
holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not 
a toll-free number.) In addition, comments may be viewed online at 
www.Regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Technology 
(OI&T), Privacy Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1100 First 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20420, telephone (202) 632-7524. (This is not 
a toll-free number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The System Name is being changed from 
``Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER)-VA'' to ``Health 
Information Exchange-VA''.
    The System Number is changed from 168VA10P2 to 168VA005 to reflect 
the current departmental alignment.
    The System Location is being amended to add Philadelphia 
Information Technology Center, 3900 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 
19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS) Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410 Terry 
Ave North, Seattle, WA 98109 and the Cerner Technology Centers (CTC): 
Primary Data Center in Kansas City, MO and Continuity of Operations/
Disaster Recovery (COOP/DR) Data Center in Lees Summit, MO.
    The System Manager is being amended to replace Director Standards 
and Interoperability, Chief Health Informatics Office/Office of 
Informatics and Analytics/Veterans Health Information with Chief 
Technology & Integration Officer Veterans Affairs Office of Electronic 
Health Record Modernization at 811 Vermont Avenue Office 5084 
Washington, DC 20420.
    The Purpose is being amended to remove VLER/Nationwide Health 
Information Network (NwHIN) partners. Being added is information stored 
in VA computer systems, such as the Data Access Service (DAS) and VA 
contracted computer systems which are used for benefit and claims 
adjudication as well as data for VA Data Sharing and Interoperability 
Initiatives with VA partners. These partners include, but are not 
limited to, Veteran Health Information Exchange (VHIE) external 
partners, The Sequoia Project, eHealth Exchange partners, Direct 
Partners, Carequality, CommonWell, VA-approved third party payers and 
contracted providers, educational affiliates, Veteran Service 
Organizations (VSOs), VA AppCatalog Mobile applications, federal 
agencies (to include Indian Health Service, Bureau of Prisons, Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration (SSA), Department 
of Defense (DoD), Health and Human Services, and others), and State 
Registries. This section adds ``for health care operations and 
reimbursement for care provided'' as purposes of the data.
    The Categories of Individuals Covered by the System is being 
amended to remove caveat of VA employees who access information through 
VLER to state ``VA employees'' and add VA contractors. In addition, 
other VA patients, VA contracted and private providers and payers, VA 
contracted Health Information Handlers, VSO staff, and VA system 
integrators who resolve information technology (IT) trouble tickets, 
DoD providers, educational affiliate staff with approved VA access.
    The Categories of Records in the System is being amended to add 
scanned & imported paper records & non-radiology images, Service 
Treatment Record (STR) (and transformed DAS STR), Community Health 
Summaries--DoD, Questionnaires and Deployment Assessments (Armed Forces 
Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) only), Contact Logs, 
Diet, Patient Mood and Immunizations as examples under patient 
demographic and health information from external health care providers 
and VHIE external partners; and opt-out forms, participate in sharing 
after opting out forms and future forms developed for VHIE as examples 
under information on Veterans' preferences regarding the sharing of 
their health information. This section will add information on health 
information exchange and Direct users, claims adjudication information, 
research records, education information and device or patient created 
data.
    The Records Source Category is being amended to replace 79VA19 with 
79VA10A7, 121VA19 with 121VA10A7, and 24VA19 with 24VA10A7. Federal and 
non-federal VLER/NwHIN partners and DoD is being removed and replaced 
with VHIE external partners. This section will add eHealth Exchange 
partners, Carequality and CommonWell, Direct Messaging providers, non-
VA care providers, patient or individual device generated data through 
a VA AppCatalog Mobile application, homeless shelters, government 
agencies such as DoD, SSA, IRS, Health and Human Services, Bureau of 
Prisons, Indian Health Services and others, and State Registries.
    The Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System has been 
amended by amending the language in Routine Use #6 which states that 
disclosure of the records to the Department of Justice (DoJ) is a use 
of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the 
purpose for which VA collected the records. VA may disclose records in 
this system of

[[Page 6976]]

records in legal proceedings before a court or administrative body 
after determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or 
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records. This routine use will now state that release of the records to 
the DoJ is limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the 
litigation. VA may disclose records in this system of records in legal 
proceedings before a court or administrative body after determining 
that release of the records to the court or administrative body is 
limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the 
litigation.
    Routine use #15 is being added to state, ``Disclosure of Veteran 
identifiers and demographic information (e.g., name, SSN, address, date 
of birth) may be made to an organization with whom VA has a documented 
partnership, arrangement or agreement (e.g., Health Information 
Exchange (HIE), Health Information Service Provider (HISP) Direct, 
CommonWell Health Alliance network), for the purpose of identifying and 
correlating patients.'' VA needs this ability to share demographic 
information for correlation and identification purposes.
    Routine use #16 is being added to state, ``VA may disclose 
information from this system to another Federal agency or Federal 
entity, when VA determines that information from this system of records 
is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) 
responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, 
minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient 
agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and 
operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting 
from a suspected or confirmed breach.'' VA needs this routine use for 
the data breach response and remedial efforts with another Federal 
agency.
    Routine use #17 is being added to state, To disclose to the Federal 
Labor Relations Authority (including its General Counsel) information 
related to the establishment of jurisdiction, the investigation and 
resolution of allegations of unfair labor practices, or information in 
connection with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when 
a question of material fact is raised; to disclose information in 
matters properly before the Federal Services Impasses Panel, and to 
investigate representation petitions and conduct or supervise 
representation elections. VA must be able to provide information to 
FLRA to comply with the statutory mandate under which it operates.
    Policies and Practices for Storage of Records is being amended to 
remove storage area network (SAN) and mobile devices and add electronic 
storage media including, but not limited to, magnetic tape, disk, laser 
optical media and solid-state flash media.
    The Retrievability section is being amended to add electronic data 
interchange personal identifier (EDIPI), medical record number, problem 
list, geographic location and other demographic, medical or medication 
information.
    Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal is being amended 
to replace `in accordance with the records disposition authority 
approved by the Archivist of the United States, health information 
stored on electronic media storage is maintained for seventy-five (75) 
years after the last episode of patient care and then deleted' with GRS 
4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and Electronic Health Records schedule, 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) job #N1-15-02-3, 
item 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
    The Administrative, Technical and Physical Safeguards section is 
being amended to add, ``Access to Cerner Technology Centers is 
generally restricted to Cerner employees, contractors or associates 
with a Cerner issued ID badge and other security personnel cleared for 
access to the data center. Access to computer rooms housing Federal 
data, hence Federal enclave, is restricted to persons Federally cleared 
for Federal enclave access through electronic badge entry devices. All 
other persons, such as custodians, gaining access to Federal enclave 
are escorted.''
    Records Access Procedure is being amended to replace Director 
Standards and Interoperability, Chief Health Informatics Office/Office 
of Informatics and Analytics/Veterans Health Information, with 
Director, VHIE, Office of Health Informatics/Veterans Health 
Administration and to add ``or contact their closest VA Medical Center 
(VAMC)''. Being added to this section is that requests should contain 
the full name, address and telephone number of the individual making 
the inquiry.
    The Report of Intent to Amend a System of Records Notice and an 
advance copy of the system notice have been sent to the appropriate 
Congressional committees and to the Director of Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy Act) and 
guidelines issued by OMB (65 FR 77677), December 12, 2000.

Signing Authority

    The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. James P. 
Gfrerer, Assistant Secretary of Information and Technology and Chief 
Information Officer, approved this document on July 24, 2020 for 
publication.

    Dated: January 19, 2021.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security, 
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.

SYSTEM NAME:
    ``Health Information Exchange-VA'' (168VA005).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are maintained at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 
Austin Information Technology Center (AITC), 1615 Woodward Street, 
Austin, TX 78772, Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC), 
3900 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS) 
Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410 Terry Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109; 
and Cerner Technology Centers (CTC): Primary Data Center in Kansas 
City, MO and Continuity of Operations/Disaster Recovery (COOP/DR) Data 
Center in Lees Summit, MO.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Official maintaining this system of records and responsible for 
policies and procedures is Chief Technology & Integration Officer 
Veterans Affairs, Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization at 
811 Vermont Avenue Office 5084 Washington, DC 20420.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Title 38, United States Code, Section 501.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The records and information stored in VA computer systems, 
including the Data Access Service (DAS) and VA contracted systems, such 
as Cerner products, may be used for the ongoing communication of 
current healthcare, benefit and claims adjudication data, for VA Data 
Sharing and interoperability initiatives with VA partners. These

[[Page 6977]]

partners include, but are not limited to, Veteran Health Information 
Exchange (VHIE) external partners, The Sequoia Project and eHealth 
Exchange partners, Direct Partners, Carequality, CommonWell, VA-
approved third party payers and contracted providers, educational 
affiliates, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), VA AppCatalog Mobile 
applications, State Registries and federal agencies (to include Indian 
Health Service, Bureau of Prisons, IRS, DoD, Health and Human Services, 
and others). This data is used to promote improved quality of patient 
care, reduce duplicative ordering of tests, services and 
pharmaceuticals; for statistical analysis to produce various 
management, workload tracking, and follow-up reports; to track the 
ordering and delivery of equipment, services and patient care; for the 
planning, distribution and utilization of resources; to monitor the 
performance of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN); to allocate 
clinical and administrative support to patient to include but not 
limited to Healthcare treatment, disability adjudication, and benefits, 
and for health care operations and reimbursement for care provided.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The records contain information on Veterans and the family members 
or caregivers; members of the armed services, Reserves or National 
Guard, other VA patients, VA employees and contractors, VA contracted 
and private providers and payers, VA contracted Health Information 
Handlers, VSO staff, DoD providers, education affiliate staff with 
approved VA access, and VA system integrators who resolve information 
technology (IT) trouble tickets.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The records may include patient demographic information (e.g., 
electronic data interchange personal identifier (EDIPI), name, address, 
phone numbers, date of birth, social security number); patient 
demographic and health information from external health care providers 
and VHIE external partners, e.g., medications, allergies, consultations 
and referrals, history and physicals, discharge summaries, diagnostic 
studies, procedures notes, advanced directives, problem lists, 
laboratory results, lists of procedures and encounters, scanned & 
imported paper records & non-radiology images, Service Treatment 
Records (STR) (and transformed DAS STR), Community Health Summaries--
DoD, Questionnaires and Deployment Assessments (Armed Forces Health 
Longitudinal Technology Application [AHLTA] only), Contact Logs, Diet, 
Patient Mood, and immunizations, benefits information (e.g., disability 
rating, service connection rating), information on Veterans' 
preferences regarding the sharing of their health information (e.g., 
authorizations, restriction requests, revocation of authorizations, 
opt-out forms, participate in sharing after opting out forms and future 
forms developed for VHIE, information on VHIE and Direct users, claims 
adjudication information, research records and education information, 
as well as device- or patient-created data relating to the above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system of records is provided by Veterans and 
their family members or caregivers, members of the Armed Services, 
Reserves or National Guard, other VA patients, VA employees and 
contractors, VA computer systems, Veterans Health Information Systems 
and Technology Architecture (VistA)-VA (79VA10A7), National Patient 
Databases-VA (121VA10A7), Patient Medical Record--VA (24VA10A7), VA 
contracted computer systems, HIE external partners, Direct Messaging 
providers, non-VA care providers, VA AppCatalog Mobile application, 
homeless shelters, State Registries, and government agencies such as 
DoD, SSA, IRS, Health and Human Services, Bureau of Prisons, Indian 
Health Services and others.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    To the extent that records contained in the system include 
information protected by 45 CFR parts 160 and 164, i.e., individually 
identifiable health information, and 38 U.S.C. 7332, i.e., medical 
treatment information related to drug abuse, alcoholism or alcohol 
abuse, sickle cell anemia, or infection with the human immunodeficiency 
virus, that information cannot be disclosed under a routine use unless 
there is also specific statutory authority in 38 U.S.C. 7332 and 
regulatory authority in 45 CFR parts 160 and 164 permitting disclosure.
    1. VA may disclose any information in this system, except the names 
and home addresses of Veterans and their dependents, which is relevant 
to a suspected or reasonably imminent violation of law, whether civil, 
criminal or regulatory in nature and whether arising by general or 
program statute or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant 
thereto, to a Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign agency charged 
with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation, 
or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule 
or order. VA may also disclose the names and addresses of Veterans and 
their dependents to a Federal agency charged with the responsibility of 
investigating or prosecuting civil, criminal or regulatory violations 
of law, or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, 
regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto.
    2. Disclosure may be made to any source from which additional 
information is requested (to the extent necessary to identify the 
individual, inform the source of the purpose(s) of the request, and to 
identify the type of information requested), when necessary to obtain 
information relevant to an individual's eligibility, care history, or 
other benefits.
    3. Disclosure of information to a health participant for the 
purpose of providing care or treatment to VA patients, reimbursement 
for health care services, or determining eligibility for government 
disability benefits.
    4. The record of an individual who is covered by a system of 
records may be disclosed to a Member of Congress, or a staff person 
acting for the Member, when the Member or staff person requests the 
record on behalf of and at the written request of the individual.
    5. Disclosure may be made to NARA and the General Services 
Administration (GSA) in records management inspections conducted under 
authority of Title 44, Chapter 29, of the United States Code (U.S.C.).
    6. VA may disclose information in this system of records to the 
Department of Justice (DoJ), either on VA's initiative or in response 
to DoJ's request for the information, after either VA or DoJ determines 
that such information is relevant to DoJ's representation of the United 
States or any of its components in legal proceedings before a court or 
adjudicative body, provided that, in each case, the agency also 
determines prior to disclosure that release of the records to the DoJ 
is limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the 
litigation. VA may disclose records in this system of records in legal 
proceedings before a court or administrative body after determining 
that release of the records to the court or administrative body is 
limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the 
litigation.
    7. Disclosure may be made to a national certifying body which has 
the authority to make decisions concerning the issuance, retention or 
revocation of

[[Page 6978]]

licenses, certifications or registrations required to practice a health 
care profession, when requested in writing by an investigator or 
supervisory official of the national certifying body for the purpose of 
making a decision concerning the issuance, retention or revocation of 
the license, certification or registration of a named health care 
professional.
    8. VA may disclose information to officials of the Merit Systems 
Protection Board MSPB), or the Office of Special Counsel, when 
requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the civil 
service and other merit systems, review of rules and regulations, 
investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices, 
and such other functions, promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as 
authorized by law.
    9. VA may disclose information to the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission when requested in connection with investigations of alleged 
or possible discriminatory practices, examination of Federal 
affirmative employment programs, or for other functions of the 
Commission as authorized by law or regulation.
    10. VA may disclose to the Fair Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) 
(including its General Counsel) information related to the 
establishment of jurisdiction, the investigation and resolution of 
allegations of unfair labor practices, or information in connection 
with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when a question 
of material fact is raised; to disclose information in matters properly 
before the Federal Services Impasse Panel, and to investigate 
representation petitions and conduct or supervise representation 
elections.
    11. Disclosures of relevant information may be made to individuals, 
organizations, private or public agencies, or other entities with whom 
VA has a contract or agreement or where there is a subcontract to 
perform the services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of 
laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor or subcontractor 
to perform the services of the contract or agreement.
    12. Disclosure to other Federal agencies may be made to assist such 
agencies in preventing and detecting possible fraud or abuse by 
individuals in their operations and programs.
    13. VA may disclose any information or records to appropriate 
agencies, entities, and persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed 
that the integrity or confidentiality of information in the system of 
records has been compromised; (2) the Department has determined that as 
a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of 
embarrassment or harm to the reputations of the record subjects, harm 
to economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to 
the security, confidentiality, or integrity of this system or other 
systems or programs (whether maintained by the Department or another 
agency or entity) that rely upon the potentially compromised 
information; and (3) the disclosure is to agencies, entities, or 
persons whom VA determines are reasonably necessary to assist or carry 
out the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    14. VA may disclose information from this system to a Federal 
agency for the purpose of conducting research and data analysis to 
perform a statutory purpose of that Federal agency upon the prior 
written request of that agency, provided that there is legal authority 
under all applicable confidentiality statutes and regulations to 
provide the data and VA has determined prior to the disclosure that the 
VA data handling requirements are satisfied.
    15. Disclosure of Veteran identifiers and demographic information 
(e.g., name, SSN, address, date of birth) may be made to an 
organization with whom VA has a documented partnership, arrangement or 
agreement (e.g., Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information 
Service Provider (HISP) Direct, CommonWell Health Alliance network), 
for the purpose of identifying and correlating patients.
    16. VA may disclose information from this system to another Federal 
agency or Federal entity, when VA determines that information from this 
system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient 
agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach 
or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to 
individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information 
systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national 
security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
    17. To disclose to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (including 
its General Counsel) information related to the establishment of 
jurisdiction, the investigation and resolution of allegations of unfair 
labor practices, or information in connection with the resolution of 
exceptions to arbitration awards when a question of material fact is 
raised; to disclose information in matters properly before the Federal 
Services Impasses Panel, and to investigate representation petitions 
and conduct or supervise representation elections.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records are maintained on electronic storage media including, but 
not limited to, magnetic tape, disk, laser optical media and solid-
state flash media.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by electronic data interchange personal 
identifier (EDIPI), problem list, geographic location and other 
demographic, medical or medication information, name, social security 
number or other assigned identifiers of the individuals on whom they 
are maintained. For reporting purposes records can also be retrieved by 
Internal Control Number (ICN).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    GRS 4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and Electronic Health Records schedule, 
NARA job #N1-15-02-3, item 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    1. Access to and use of national administrative databases, 
warehouses, and data marts are limited to those persons whose official 
duties require such access, and the VA implements Federal Information 
Security Management Act mandated security protocols or, when 
appropriate, has established security procedures to ensure that access 
is appropriately limited. Information security officers and system data 
stewards review and authorize data access requests. VA regulates data 
access with security software that authenticates users and requires 
individually unique codes and passwords. VA provides information 
security training to all staff and instructs staff on the 
responsibility each person has for safeguarding data confidentiality.
    2. Physical access to computer rooms housing national 
administrative databases, warehouses, and data marts is restricted to 
authorized staff and protected by a variety of security devices. 
Unauthorized employees, contractors, and other staff are not allowed in 
computer rooms. The Federal Protective Service or other security 
personnel provide physical security for the buildings housing computer 
rooms and data centers.
    3. Data transmissions between operational systems and national 
administrative databases, warehouses,

[[Page 6979]]

and data marts maintained by this system of record are protected by 
state-of-the-art telecommunication software and hardware. This may 
include firewalls, intrusion detection devices, encryption, and other 
security measures necessary to safeguard data as it travels across the 
VA Wide Area Network.
    4. In most cases, copies of back-up computer files are maintained 
at off-site locations.
    5. Access to Cerner Technology Centers is generally restricted to 
Cerner employees, contractors or associates with a Cerner issued ID 
badge and other security personnel cleared for access to the data 
center. Access to computer rooms housing Federal data, hence Federal 
enclave, is restricted to persons Federally cleared for Federal enclave 
access through electronic badge entry devices. All other persons, such 
as custodians, gaining access to Federal enclave are escorted.
    6. The AWS GovCloud infrastructure as a service cloud-computing 
environment has been authorized at the high-impact level under the 
Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The secure 
site-to-site encrypted network connection is limited to access via the 
VA trusted internet connection (TIC).

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking information regarding access to and contesting 
of records in this system may write the Director, VHIE, Office of 
Health Informatics/Veterans Health Administration at VACO, 810 Vermont 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, or contact their closest VAMC. 
Requests should contain the full name, address and telephone number of 
the individual making the inquiry.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See Record Access Procedures above.)

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals who wish to determine whether this system of records 
contains information about them should contact their closest VAMC. 
Inquiries should include the person's full name, social security 
number, location and dates of treatment or location and dates of 
employment and their return address.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    Last full publication provided in 77 FR 27859 dated May 11, 2012.

[FR Doc. 2021-01516 Filed 1-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P