US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

See the following -

Open Source Electronic Health Records For Education And Training

In spite of being very involved in the field of Health Informatics I only recently became aware of VistA for Education (VFE), which has all of the aforementioned attributes of an  excellent solution for EHR education purposes. VFE was developed as a result of a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to supplement the ONC Health Information Technology (HIT) curriculum. Electronic health records (EHRs) are more than just the electronic equivalent of paper-based health records. Electronic health data is easier to search, share and archive, compared to paper records. Additionally, EHRs can be embedded with clinical decision support to alert and remind physicians of patient safety and preventive medicine measures.

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Oroville Hospital CEO Outlines How VistA Can Help Hospitals Survive the HITECH Act and Obamacare

Press Release | Oroville Hospital | February 21, 2014

Robert Wentz, President and CEO of Oroville Hospital, was one of the keynote speakers at the 28th VistA Community Meeting (VCM) in Sacramento, CA. Wentz's presentation, titled “Obamacare: a provider's perspective. An opportunity for VistA and private sector Hospitals,” outlined the clear advantages of using the VistA EHR as the United States moves towards a new health system based on Obamacare...Wentz detailed in his presentation why VistA is the best option for private hospitals in the US that want to stay in business under the new rules created by Obamacare. Wentz described the major changes currently taking place in the healthcare industry as a result of Obamacare, both in terms of financial issues as well as patient/consumer side...Wentz laid out how Vista coupled with a reshaping of how care is delivered can sustains hospitals through the changes that Obamacare will bring to the healthcare system...

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OSEHRA 2012: Announces First Annual Open Source EHR Summit and Workshop

Press Release | OSEHRA | August 7, 2012

The Open Source Electronic Health Records Agent (OSEHRA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating innovation in electronic health record software, today announced that registration is now open for the First Annual Open Source EHR Summit & Workshop....Conference accepting abstracts to discuss future of electronic health record development Read More »

OSEHRA 2014 Announces Speakers for Open Source Summit

Press Release | OSEHRA | June 4, 2014

OSEHRA is excited to announce the confirmed speakers for the Opening Session of the 2014 Open Source Summit: Global Collaboration in Health IT! Keynote speakers for the 3rd Annual Summit, to be held September 3-5 at the Bethesda, Maryland North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, include: Read More »

OSEHRA 2014 Summit Shows the Future for Open Source EHR's— US Government IT Procurement

The recent 2014 OSEHRA Open Source Summit: Global Collaboration in Healthcare IT, held September 3-5 in Bethesda, MD, was a huge success and clearly marks a watershed moment for open source health information technology (HIT), as well as a transformation in the way that US government agencies procure technology. The Summit featured more than 120 speakers addressing 90 separate sessions over three days. According to Seong K. Mun, President and CEO of OSEHRA, “this Summit demonstrated solid growth in both the depth and breadth of the OSEHRA Community.” Read More »

OSEHRA 2014: Modernizing the VistA GUI

As we approach the 2014 OSEHRA EHR Summit, the topics of EHR Usability and EHR web enablement have become major points of discussion. This article is a quick attempt to summarize one of the key developments in this area. Sidney Tarason from Astute Semantics has produced groundbreaking prototypes for VistA that could shape the modernization effort moving forward for not just VistA, but for all EHRs based on the polymorphic MUMPS database (about 95% of all electronic health record (EHR) systems in the United States). Read More »

OSEHRA 2014: Patricia Abbott Elected to OSEHRA Board

Press Release | OSEHRA | September 12, 2014

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) announced today that Patricia Abbott, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, was elected to the OSEHRA Board of Directors by its members at the 2014 OSEHRA Open Source Summit. Abbott, the first woman and the first nurse elected to the Board of Directors, will begin her three- year term in October, following the departure of founding Director John D. Halamka, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “It has been a great pleasure to serve on the OSEHRA Board during its emergence as a unifying force in the open source community," said Halamka, “and I’m delighted to be succeeded by someone with Dr. Abbott’s clinical and academic experience.”

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OSEHRA 2014: Tweed, Rhodes and Timson Receive Awards During Open Source EHR Summit

Press Release | OSEHRA | September 18, 2014

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) announced today the recipients of the 2014 OSEHRA Awards presented at the widely-attended 2014 OSEHRA Open Source Summit. Three outstanding individuals were recognized by the OSEHRA community for their leadership and contributions to health information technology and innovative healthcare. Read More »

OSEHRA 2014: VISTA Expertise Network and OSEHRA Join Forces for Technical Town Hall

Press Release | OSEHRA, VISTA Expertise Network | July 15, 2014

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) and the VISTA Expertise Network announced today that they will collaborate in a special technical meeting regarding the future of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), the electronic health record system utilized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other healthcare providers worldwide. Read More »

OSEHRA 2015: CORAnet Solutions CEO to Address Open Source Summit on the Need for Personal Health Information Exchanges

Press Release | CORAnet | July 27, 2015

Cora Alisuag, the CEO of CORAnet Solutions, Inc. will speak on the importance of Mobile Personal Health Information Exchange (PHIE) technologies in providing patients and their caregivers with the critical information needed for their personal care and wellness during the 2015 OSEHRA Open Source Summit taking place in Bethesda, MD July 29 to 31st. Alisuag has been one of the key visionaries who proposed the idea of patients and their family members being able to obtain their personal health records. This concept was embraced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under the name of the Blue Button initiative.

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OSEHRA 2015: New Community-Based Product to Support Open Source EHR Solutions Announced

Press Release | OSEHRA | July 28, 2015

As it opens the 2015 OSEHRA Open Source Summit in Bethesda, Maryland, the Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance, Inc. (OSEHRA) has announced the availability of a new, community-based open source product. Based upon the VistA Electronic Health Record developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, OSEHRA VistA™ consists of OSEHRA VistA Core™ and OSEHRA Certified Vista Components™. Together, they lay the groundwork for vastly increased collaboration and open source code sharing among the many members of the open source electronic health record (EHR) community.

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OSEHRA 2015: Preliminary Agenda Open Source Summit Released

The 2015 Open Source Summit: Community-Powered Healthcare IT Solutions is shaping up to be another exciting event that will showcase the remarkable achievements of our growing community!  The Summit offers a unique perspective on healthcare IT innovation in the U.S. and global markets, as well as an opportunity to network with the individuals and companies who are making it happen...Further, the OSEHRA community is expanding beyond its VistA-centric origins. This year, in collaboration with Open Health News, a diverse panel of open source community leaders has been formed to exchange ideas, expertise, and business opportunities. Read More »

OSEHRA 2015: Registration Opens for Open Source Summit

Press Release | OSEHRA, DSS, Inc. | February 2, 2015

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) is pleased to announce that registration for its 2015 Open Source Summit: Community-Powered Healthcare IT Solutions, to occur July 29-31 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, is now available. “In its fourth year, we are delighted that our annual Summit has grown exponentially in both size and significance,” said Dr. Seong Ki Mun, President of OSEHRA. “With an impressive technical program, respected plenary speakers, and unfettered access to open source leaders, the 2015 Summit is certain to draw a diverse and enthusiastic community of participants.”

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OSEHRA 2015: Summit Sponsors for Open Source Summit Announced

Press Release | OSEHRA | July 27, 2015

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) is excited to announce the confirmed sponsors for the 2015 Open Source Summit: Community-Powered Healthcare IT Solutions to be held July 29-31 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Sponsors for the 4th Annual Summit include...

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OSEHRA 2015: VA Secretary Articulates Open Source Strategy as the Core of VA’s Transformation During Summit

Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), articulated a clear strategy for the VA’s technology efforts based on open source, crowdsourcing and agile development during a speech at the 2015 OSEHRA Open Source Summit in Bethesda, MD yesterday. McDonald, who was the keynote speaker of the conference, gave an overview of the crisis that the VA was facing a year ago and the steps taken to address the crisis. McDonald said that his primary step was to change the focus of the discussion from problems within the VA bureaucracy to a focus of placing the customers, America's veterans and military personnel, at the center of things.

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