Beginning this week, medical staff at all 154 hospitals and the roughly 800 clinics run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should be able to access the Department of Defense medical records of servicemembers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

"What is significant now is that every VA facility will have access to these important medical records.

Knowing exactly what other doctors have recorded will help with treatment and could, in fact, save lives," said Senator Craig, the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.