Veterans Health Information Systems & Technology Architecture (VistA)

See the following -

OSEHRA 2012: Innovation in Open Source EHRs and Health IT to be Focus at 1st Annual Open Source EHR Summit and Workshop

Press Release | OSEHRA | October 18, 2012

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating innovation in electronic health record software, kicked off its First Annual Open Source EHR Summit & Workshop. The event is the culmination of a year of growth for OSEHRA, which was launched as a result of an agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense in 2011. OSEHRA's goal is to drive rapid innovation in electronic health records and health IT through an open source software process involving the community of software developers, clinicians, business leaders and other practitioners.
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OSEHRA 2012: Major VistA Code Contributions Announced During Summit

The open source VistA community took a giant leap in collaboration during the recently concluded 1st Annual OSEHRA Summit and Workshop, as several of the major players announced they were contributing key enhancements to the open source community. The day before the conference, leading VistA solution providers, Medsphere and DSS announced they were contributing major VistA modules to Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA). Then, during conference presentations, AEGIS announced they were releasing a major integration and testing toolset.  And just previous to the conference, KRM Associates contributed their open source personal health record (PHR), HealtheMe, to OSEHRA.

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OSEHRA 2012: Oroville Hospital CEO Addresses Open Source EHR Meeting in Washington

Press Release | Oroville Hospital | November 5, 2012

Robert Wentz, President and CEO of Oroville Hospital, addressed a packed audience of more than 400 participants at the 1st Annual Open Source EHR Summit held October 17 & 18 at the Gaylord National Conference Center at National Harbor, MD, just outside Washington D.C. Wentz spoke during the keynote opening panel of the conference. The Summit was hosted by the Open Source Electronic Health Records Agent (OSEHRA) organization, the custodial agent of the open source software code for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs' (VA) VistA EHR system.

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OSEHRA 2012: Oroville Hospital CEO to Participate in Keynote Panel at Open Source EHR Conference in DC

Press Release | Oroville Hospital | October 10, 2012

Robert Wentz, President and CEO of Oroville Hospital...has been asked to speak during the keynote panel at the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) conference in Washington, DC, on October 17th and 18th. This is the first annual conference of the OSEHRA organization and considered a major watershed in the transformation of US government software development towards an open, collaborative, and transparent development process. Read More »

OSEHRA 2012: Robert Wentz Wows Audience At EHR Summit

Staff Writer | Chico News and Review | November 15, 2012

Robert Wentz, CEO and president of Oroville Hospital, spoke about the hospital’s success in implementing open-source electronic health records at a summit held outside of Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17 and 18. Wentz (pictured) spoke to a packed house during the keynote opening panel of the first-ever Open Source EHR Summit in National Harbor, Md., which was hosted by the Open Source Electronic Health Records Agent organization. Oroville Hospital was the first hospital in the nation to self-implement the open-source system, using VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) to digitize its patient records, according to an Oroville Hospital press release...

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OSEHRA 2012: Spotlight On 1st Annual Open Source EHR Summit and Workshop

Staff Writer | SMART Platforms | November 7, 2012

We recently posted about Ken Mandl’s participation in a panel at the OSEHRA 1st Annual Open Source EHR Summit and Workshop. Audio and slides are now available to those with OSEHRA user accounts; scroll to Day One, 3pm, “Open Source Best Practice and Business Models.” Read More »

OSEHRA 2013 Presentations Now Available Online

The 2nd Annual Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) Summit & Workshop was held earlier this year in Bethesda, Maryland. All of the procedings from the Summit Conference & Workshop are now posted on the OSEHRA web site and available for viewing by OSEHRA members. Learn about the open source VistA system, open source business models, and a variety of open source tools the community has developed. Read More »

OSEHRA 2013 Summit Shines, even as DoD Shuns the Summit

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) Summit was held this past week in Bethesda, Maryland.  The focus was on the use of the VistA electronic health record (EHR) and other open source solutions in healthcare. Read More »

OSEHRA 2013: VA CIO Stephen Warren Lays out Open Source Strategy at the VA During Summit

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is launching a series of an initiative to fully embrace and leverage its open source strategy, according to Stephen Warren, the Acting Chief Information Officer (CIO). Warren, who gave the keynote presentation at the 2nd Annual OSEHRA Summit, in Behesda, Maryland, laid out in great detail the steps the VA is taking. These include fully embracing OSEHRA as the open source code repository, developing intake mechanisms so the VA can bring VistA enhancements from the private sector into the VA, following recommendations made by the iEHR team to standardize all core VistA modules, migrating all servers to Linux, and standardizing all development on open source tools. 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 »

Pentagon's Electronic Health Record Gets a Life Extension

Bob Brewin | NextGov | October 31, 2013

The Defense Health Agency plans to extend the life of the department’s electronic health record -- the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application, or AHLTA -- through 2018, a sign that it will take until then to field a new and improved EHR. Read More »

Pentagon’s Electronic Health Record Not Ready for Initial Use Until 2017

Bob Brewin | NextGov | November 19, 2013

The Defense Department will not start deploying its modernized electronic health record until 2017, nine years after President Obama called on the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department to develop a joint EHR. Read More »

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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Red Hat Wins VA Medical Appointment Scheduling Challenge as Part of HP Open Community Team

Press Release | Red Hat | November 19, 2013

Red Hat, Inc...today announced it was selected, as part of the HP Open Community team, as an award winner in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Appointment Scheduling Challenge. The contest was designed to challenge software developers to create new systems that schedule appointments in the VA’s nationwide health system.

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RPMS & VistA in Hawaii and across the Pacific Rim

Over the years, Hawaii has given rise to a number of notable individuals and organizations that have played a key role in collaboratively developing and implementing innovative ‘open’ health IT initiatives. Here's a quick update on some of the latest activities related to the implementation of the open source VistA and RPMS electronic health record (EHR) systems in both the state of Hawaii and other island nations and territories across the Pacific rim. Read More »