OSEHRA Community Launches Open Source VistA Marketing Campaign

Press Release | OSEHRA | February 20, 2015

Arlington, VA – A collaborative effort by the Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA) and its Corporate Members is underway to raise the visibility of open source VistA as a proven, open, and affordable EHR for the commercial marketplace. “The eagerness of our members to actively engage in this promotion demonstrates exactly what OSEHRA can offer the open source community,” said Dr. Seong K. Mun, President of OSEHRA.  “We are committed to the advancement of healthcare.” 

VistA is not well known in the EHR marketplace as it is often solely associated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Adopted by VA, VistA is used in over 1,800 VA installations around the globe.  As such, over the last several decades, VistA has leveraged over $2 billion in U.S. taxpayer investment dedicated for its development.  However, VistA is increasingly being used in the private sphere.

OSEHRA Corporate Members DSS, Inc., Medsphere, and Oroville Hospital have all implemented VistA-based EHRs domestically within over 650 non-federal hospitals and clinics in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, and West Virginia.  The State of Tennessee has even chosen to implement VistA in 126 state facilities, and the New York Office of Mental Health chose to implement VistA in over 300 facilities.  Further, VistA has been adopted internationally by Electronic Health Solutions, an OSEHRA Corporate Member that addresses the efficiency of public health care services in Jordan.

The collaborative effort is set to continue in the coming months through a new microsite and infographic dedicated to the Open Source VistA EHR.  OSEHRA and many of its Corporate Members will be Exhibitors at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Chicago from April 12-16, 2015.  OSEHRA will also host its annual Open Source Summit: Community-Powered Healthcare IT Solutions, sponsored by DSS, Inc., just outside of Washington, D.C., from July 29-31, 2015.              

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OSEHRA (http://www.osehra.org/) is a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating innovation in electronic health record software and related open source technology. Founded in 2011, OSEHRA has a rapidly growing community with 2,700+ members representing 160+ industry, academic, and government organizations. Additionally, OSEHRA hosts software repositories for applications such as VistA, Blue Button, HealtheMe PHR, and now popHealth®. OSEHRA is a member of global industry associations including ANSI, HIMSS, HL7, IHE, and OSI.