Congress approves $1.4 billion military health IT budget

Congress fully funded the Military Health System's information technology systems for fiscal 2012 as part of a multiagency appropriations act passed this weekend, but a separate measure limits how the Defense Department can spend the money. The omnibus spending package includes $1.4 billion for military health IT. The fiscal 2012 Defense Authorization Act passed last week, however, restricts spending on a next-generation electronic health record system until the Pentagon has met specific requirements.