Care coordination, the integration of healthcare services across settings to deliver care effectively and efficiently, is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes and experiences. However, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) faces unique challenges in coordinating care, as many veterans have multiple conditions and providers and receive care across both VA and non-VA settings. To address these challenges, VA leadership convened a State of the Art (SOTA) conference in 2018 to assess current knowledge, identify best practices ready for implementation, and develop priorities for future research. Key recommendations that emerged include applying theoretical frameworks to translate evidence into practice, evaluating new models of care for veterans with complex needs, examining unique challenges facing veterans with mental illness, and using quality improvement and implementation science methods to tailor programs to local contexts. Realizing the full potential of care coordination will require robust partnerships across researchers, clinicians, veterans and VA leaders to develop, test and deploy system-level solutions. By doing so, the VA can lead the way in building an evidence base for care coordination practices that maximize quality, safety and efficiency for veterans and beyond.