Nancy, That appears to me to be a highly perceptive take on the situation that includes considerable truth as well. I would second your observations and perceptions.
Gordon -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nancy Anthracite Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 1:53 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] BIG NEWS re HealtheVet- St. Petersburg Times I am afraid that part in the report that said that " VA culture inhibits "raising risks, issues, problems or differing opinions" translates into people will be risking their jobs to talk to you and be quoted. However, a search through the Hardhats archives will reveal some who have taken the chance and have spoken out on the mailing list despite knowing that it is risky to stick out your neck where others may be watching. My take on it is that the M programmers and others within the VA and on the outside are eager to have an opportunity to do what they have wanted to do but have been prevented from doing for years, which is to work on re-engineering the existing VistA, still in M, to modularize it and clean up the code to make some of the very things that management complains about regarding VistA go away. No only would that remove some of the complaints about about VistA ("it takes $1,000,000 to change a line of code") but it would make it easier to port to another language should that ever need to be done. This concept that there are not enough M programmers so it can't be done is bogus. In my experience, programmers know multiple languages and M as easy to learn as any other. If there are so few M programmers, how is it that other large M based medical record systems persist and new ones get made but the VA can't do that? I also think that many of the changes that are being made that tap into VistA to get data are supported by the programmers, maybe in the form they are in or something different, but allowing Java based programs to make use of the data in the M Database is all well and good - a multilayered architecture is not opposed by those I have discussed this with. However, there is something to the fact that the people who best know VistA are getting older and it is time to let them direct the job they are so eager to do and let them fix VistA. Maybe this will be the kick in the pants for everyone that might allow this to happen. On Wednesday 13 April 2005 02:24 pm, Joseph Conn wrote: > Any Hardhats/WorldVistA folks want to comment on this Carnegie report story > for a story I'm working on??? I've got calls into the VA for comment. > > Joseph Conn > Staff writer > Modern Physician > ModernPhysician.com > Modern Physician STAT > Heatlh IT Strategist > 312-649-5395 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Check out the NEW ModernPhysician.com, and register now for Modern > Physician Stat and Modern Physician Alert > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 04/13/05 11:53AM >>> > > VA faces another computer problem > By PAUL DE LA GARZA and STEPHEN NOHLGREN Published April 13, 2005 > > A report done for the administration suggests that the VA's > multibillion-dollar plan to upgrade its system is "not realistic." > > A $3.5-billion computer overhaul at veterans hospitals across the country > is poised to fail unless the Department of Veterans Affairs makes drastic > changes, according to a closely guarded government study obtained by the > St. Petersburg Times . > http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/13/Worldandnation/VA_faces_another_comp.shtm >l -- Nancy Anthracite ------------------------------------------------------- SF email is sponsored by - The IT Product Guide Read honest & candid reviews on hundreds of IT Products from real users. Discover which products truly live up to the hype. Start reading now. http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=6595&alloc_id=14396&op=click _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members ------------------------------------------------------- SF email is sponsored by - The IT Product Guide Read honest & candid reviews on hundreds of IT Products from real users. Discover which products truly live up to the hype. Start reading now. http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=6595&alloc_id=14396&op=click _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
