VistA
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The Politics of the EHR: Why we’re not where we want to be and what we need to do to get there
By now, it seems abundantly clear that the vast potential offered by universal adoption of electronic health records (EHR) has not been achieved. Indeed, the fulfillment of that potential seems a long way off. Unsolved problems with interoperability, usability, safety, and security, to name a few, remain, and continue to pose barriers to universal adoption. There is ample evidence in the medical literature, of the unsolved problems of the EHR. Indeed, two recent reports that offer (probably inadequate) solutions highlight the difficulties that exist with the EHR. The proliferation of these problems has only increased with the increase in adoption of the EHR by physicians and institutions. The Texas Medical Association has asked the (at the time) ONC, Farhad Mostashari, MD, to establish a health IT patient safety czar.1 Read More »
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The Right Way to Modernize VA's VistA EHR: Shift Development to the Private Sector and the Cloud
While changes to VistA are warranted and necessary, trashing the entire system because one component may be flawed makes little sense from technological or financial perspectives. The VA scheduling scandal was the product of an agency overwhelmed by veterans returning from two theaters of war. In that scenario, the scheduling system became a scapegoat for organizational and human resources challenges that were bound to manifest in one way or another.The VA should not heed calls to replace VistA for these key reasons...
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The Rise of Open-Source Electronic Health Records
Several developing nations are joining the revolution in electronic health records to improve efficiency in their health systems, but at a fraction of the usual cost. Luisa Sanchez-Garcia's praise for the VistA electronic medical record (EMR) system in the neonatal ward at the Centro Médico Nacional la Raza, a massive hospital complex in Mexico City, Mexico, is glowing. Read More »
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The use of open source Electronic Health Records within the federal safety net
A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), examined the "Use of Open Source Electronic Health Records within the Federal Safety Net." Read More »
U.K. Considers Adopting VistA
The United Kingdom is considering the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA electronic health record system as it looks to expand open-source software for health IT. Read More »
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U.S. Health Reform Expert Shares Experiences
World-renowned leader in health care philosophy, Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, advocated expanding health care in communities and adopting telemedicine approaches as China works to reform its publicly-funded hospital system. Read More »
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U.S., U.K. to collaborate on health IT, data projects
HHS and health authorities in the United Kingdom agreed to collaborate on a broad scope of health information technology and health data projects and practices. Read More »
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United Kingdom Eyes VA’s Electronic Health Record
The Veterans Affairs Department and the United Kingdom’s National Health Service have teamed up to share ideas, strategies and leadership for development of health information technology, opening the possibility that the NHS could use VA’s electronic health record system. Peter Levin, the former VA Chief Technology Officer who retired this month, told Nextgov the Pentagon also should adopt VA electronic health record. Read More »
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US and UK working to strengthen use of health IT for better patient care
As the use of health information technology (health IT) grows in both the United States and the United Kingdom, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.K. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt today signed a bi-lateral agreement for the use and sharing of health IT information and tools. The agreement strengthens efforts to cultivate and increase the use of health IT tools and information designed to help improve the quality and efficiency of the delivery of health care in both countries.
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VA & DoD continue to collaborate on 'open source' and iEHR solutions
The open source Web-based graphical user interface dubbed Janus will be just one part of a system that will allow doctors to view patients’ Defense and Veterans Affairs department integrated electronic records in one place, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said during his monthly media briefing Thursday.
VA and Georgia Tech Collaborate on Advancing EHR Adoption: VA Sandbox Cloud and GA Tech Interoperability Innovation Lab Advance EHR Initiatives
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Innovation Sandbox Cloud and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Interoperability and Integration Innovation Lab will partner to collaborate on health IT issues and advancing the adoption of EHR initatives. Read More »
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VA and VistA: Can they be fixed?
pivoting away from VistA, the agency's homegrown electronic health record system, would be a major shift for the VA. Former VA CIO Roger Baker said VistA is the only EHR designed by doctors, not technologists. "That is the real power of VistA, and it remains the real power of VistA," he added. The system, rooted in 1970s code, is designed to assist doctors in their daily work. Providers at the various VA medical facilities nationwide customize it for their specific needs.
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VA and VistA: Can They Be Fixed?
The Department of Veterans Affairs is rushing to make changes to its IT infrastructure and systems before the next administration enters the White House. And skeptical lawmakers, oversight bodies and outside experts are cautiously optimistic about the eventual outcomes. The key words, though, are "cautiously" and "eventual"...
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VA awards $4.5M contract to regroup VistA code into modules
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a $4.5 million contract to Ray Group International LLC, to refactor or reorganize the legacy code of VA’s VistA electronic health record system into modular components. The contract supports VA’s Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) community to modernize VistA for open source and to contribute to the VA-Department of Defense integrated electronic health record (iEHR).
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VA awards $4.9M OSEHRA operations contract
The Veterans Affairs Department has awarded Ray Group International, LLC, of Tampa, Fla., a $4.9 million contract to support the open source community that is contributing software code to the VA and Defense Department integrated electronic health record system. Read More »
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