AHLTA Connections Given Control of VistA Open Source Project

Dana Blankenhorn | Dana Blankenhorn | June 23, 2011

Fred Trotter writes about a very scary story out of Washington.

The custodian for the new VistA system, the open source software that's supposed to replace what the Veterans Administration is now using, will be a long-time Defense contractor with no ties to open source whatever.

This is important for two reasons:

   1. DoD is not as enthusiastic about open source as the VA.
   2. The DoD's health care software system, called AHLTA, sucks. It sucks because it's built on a contractor model, with proprietary software companies holding their own intellectual property close to the chest, refusing to cooperate until they're paid by everyone else around the table.
   3. Eventually, AHLTA and VistA are supposed to be merged, under the new open source process.

Fred goeringer Know where the $600 hammer comes from? It's not just from the spec sheets. It's from the sales process. The contracting business model, under which nothing is paid until everything is done, leads to vendors incurring enormous up-front costs, "free" work they take out on the back-end, once they get paid. If you want to know what's making American business uncompetitive, that's it, and you can draw a ring around Washington D.C. to see this in action.

Open Health News' Take: 

Dana Blankenhorn raises serious questions as to what is behind TIAG being given the 'Custodial Agent' contract despite having no expertise or experience in any of the critical components of the contract. Dana may be speculating, but he may also be right. Must read... -- Roger A. Maduro.