Indian Health Service (IHS)

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OSEHRA's First Challenge: VistA Version Control

Fred Trotter | O'Reilly Radar | October 20, 2011

There are several challenges that the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) faces, and many of them sit squarely between technical and political issues. The first question any open-source project must answer is: "Who can commit?" That's almost immediately followed by: "How do we decide who can commit?" But to manage VistA OSEHRA, we must first ask: "How do we commit?" There i Read More »

OSEHRA, VA Reveal Open Source EHR Security Patching Benefits

Patrick Ouellette | Health IT Security | November 15, 2013

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the open source IT community have paired up to prove the benefits of fixing technical security flaws within an open source system. Read More »

Pikeville Medical Center Selects OpenVista Healthcare IT Platform

Press Release | Medsphere, Pikeville Medical Center | January 25, 2016

Medsphere Systems Corporation,..today announced that  Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) has selected the OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) system for implementation. The 261-bed regional referral center and its clinics will utilize OpenVista's flexibility and comprehensive clinical support, as well as Medsphere’s rapid implementation process, to affordably manage care and realize technology objectives. As a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, PMC patients have access to Mayo Clinic expertise without having to travel to an actual Mayo facility. 

Pontiac General Hospital in Detroit Selects OpenVista Healthcare IT Platform

Press Release | Medsphere, Pontiac General Hospital | May 31, 2016

Medsphere Systems Corporation...today announced that Pontiac General Hospital has selected the OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) system for implementation. Looking toward a financial rebirth, the new owners of the 306 licensed-bed hospital will use OpenVista to improve management practices and clinical workflows as they also grow clinical staff and expand available services. The rebirth of Pontiac General is an endeavor led by Sanyam Sharma with the support of his family, Dr. Sanjay and Priyam Sharma. While Sanyam formed Sant Partners, LLC, last summer in preparation for entering the healthcare provider turnaround space, Pontiac General is only the Sharmas’ most recent healthcare revitalization project.

Power of Open Source Demonstrated by Successful Response to EHR Vulnerability

Press Release | OSEHRA | November 15, 2013

Open source collaboration has tightened the security of one of the most widely used Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in the world. In July 2013, Georgia Tech graduate student Doug Mackey evaluated the VistA EHR for a term project on computer security. That project uncovered a significant security vulnerability, catalyzed a landmark collaboration between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the open source community, and created a textbook example of how the concept of open source can improve system security.

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Q&A: Dave Peters on open source adoption within Veterans Affairs

David Perera | FierceGovernmentIT | April 4, 2014

The high-profile attention open source adoption within the Veterans Affairs Department received from some now-retired political appointee executives was a spur to action – but also led over the past year to worries that with those executives gone, open source would no longer be a priority. Read More »

Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Theresa Cullen, M.D., Receives Women In Leadership Award

Press Release | Regenstrief Institute | October 21, 2019

Regenstrief Institute research scientist Theresa Cullen, M.D., has won a Leading for Impact, Women in Leadership award. The award recognizes women who are creating impact and leading programs across the federal technology, health and consulting community. The award is given by FedHealthInnovation & Technology (FedHealthIT), which is a consolidated news source for information related to federal health agencies. Dr. Cullen also is the associate director of the Regenstrief Institute Global Health Informatics program and the interim director of strategic planning and communications for LOINC. She recently led a project to help the United States government's Indian Health Service identify and define its needs for a new health information technology system.

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Report Urges Feds To Push Open-Source Solutions

Joseph Conn | ModernHealthcare.com | July 11, 2013

While there have been successes and failures in the deployment of open-source health information technology by federally supported safety net healthcare organizations, the federal government could and should do more to ensure more frequent successes, according to an HHS-funded report. Read More »

Sacred Oak Medical Center Selects Medsphere's OpenVista EHR

Press Release | Medsphere, RedShift Healthcare Management and Consulting | June 16, 2016

Medsphere Systems Corporation...today announced that Sacred Oak Medical Center has chosen the OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) system for implementation. The brand new Houston-based inpatient behavioral health hospital will open later this summer with 20 beds and expand over time to an 80-bed capacity..."The benefits of EHR implementation apply to behavioral health care and addiction treatment, just as they do in acute medical care,” said RedShift Managing Partner Starsky Bomer. 

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South Africa’s Areta Health Selects Medsphere Healthcare IT Solutions

Press Release | Medsphere, Areta Health | September 20, 2017

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of affordable and interoperable healthcare information technology (IT) solutions and services, today announced that the company has reached an agreement with South Africa’s Areta Health for comprehensive support of the organization’s hospital network. The contract covers Areta Health’s Specialist Day Hospital (SDH) system spread throughout South Africa. The hospitals, in turn, anchor an integrated health network with remote clinics and in-home monitoring that allow patients to heal at home without sacrificing attentive care...

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Take Long View On Health Reform

Terry Schlemeier | Columbia Daily Tribune | December 15, 2013

Americans, especially the press, seem to be obsessive regarding the Affordable Care Act — or the sobriquet "Obamacare," as it has been dubbed. At first I was slightly disheartened by this, but, given further thought, it is only natural. For far too many years, we had no cohesive "system" for our health care, and now everyone, so it seems, is looking at a real system. Read More »

The Power Of Open Source Collaboration Increases VistA EHR Security

Maureen Markey | Open Source Delivers | December 2, 2013

Who would like to hear a great story about the power of open source?  I had just started working at the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) and the concept of open source was new to me.  I had yet to be convinced of its influence and impact, when this happened… Read More »

US Defense Think Tank Calls for DoD to Adopt the Open Source VistA EHR and Avoid Closed and Proprietary EHRs.

One of the most prestigious U.S. defense think tanks, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), issued a white paper Thursday calling on the Department of Defense (DoD) to replace their existing dysfunctional “vendor-lock” medical records system with an electronic health records system (EHR) that is "extensible, flexible and easy to safely modify and upgrade as technology improves and interoperability demands evolve." The white paper warns that a "closed and proprietary" commercial EHR - such as the ones offered by Epic, Cerner or Allscripts - will lead to "vendor-lock” and isolation of health data. Read More »

VA Official: Meaningful-Use Push For VistA EHR Will Benefit Patients

Joseph Conn | ModernHealthcare.com | October 25, 2012

The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department will lend more than moral support to a federal effort to boost the meaningful use of health information technology by submitting its venerable VistA electronic health-record system for testing and certification for use in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payment programs. Read More »

VistA as an EHR System Core for DoD

Here is a copy of the full text of the proposal submitted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Department of Defense in response to the Request for Information for an electronic health record (EHR) solution that can replace the existing DoD EHR system. This is the approach that makes the most sense as the current core EHR that the Department of Defense (DoD) uses is based on a 30-year-old version of VistA. The current EHR crisis facing DoD stems from the inability to upgrade this older version of VistA. What the VA is proposing is basically an upgrade to DoD's existing core EHR. Read More »