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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopts as final, with changes based on subsequent changes to our statutory authority, a proposed rule amending its regulations to clarify that a valid consent authorizing VA to release the patient’s confidential VA medical records to a health information exchange (HIE) community partner may be established not only by VA’s physical possession of the written consent form, but also by the HIE community partner’s written (electronic) attestation that the patient has provided such consent. This rule is a reinterpretation of an existing, longstanding regulation and is necessary to facilitate modern requirements for the sharing of patient records with HIE community partners. Following publication of the proposed rule, a statute was enacted that made substantive changes to VA’s authority to release confidential VA medical records. This final rule reflects those changes.