MDE is a product that has been around a long time. The company is located in Peabody MA. The people in the company have been in the MUMPS community for many years (Brian Wells, Dave Lenhart). Last I knew the system used KB_SQL to extract data.
Terry L. Wiechmann www.esitechnology.com 978-779-0257 Skype: twiechmann ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy E. Anthracite" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 4:50 AM Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] Nov 17th interview [added] Dr. K, MUG, MDC, Goodbye Mumps > This is the article I posted days ago that many of you could not read and that > I said I would try to get for you, so here it is and this was the original > URL. The original thread was Joseph Conn's interview with Dr. Kolodner. > > http://www.modernphysician.com/news.cms?newsId=2817 > > Notice how the lack of a Mumps Users Group and as a corollary, I'm sure, the > MDC, is the backbone of his argument that VistA needs to be moved to a SQL > database. The MDC desperately needs to be revived. > > I found this URL interesting last night. This is a company I was not aware > of. If their product is good, it would seem to satisfy the VA's burning > desire to extract and analyze their data in an SQL database as they do not > seem to want to do that straight out of a Mumps database, probably because so > many people are trained in making SQL queries but not in how to extract data > from VistA. I actually thought that Cache had this capability in it already, > but I may be mistaken. > > I suspect that this company owes its viability to already being used by the > VA, but I don't know about that. In fact, maybe some of the folks in the > company are on this mailing list or come to WV meetings, I don't know. One > would think they are as disappointed as we are that the database is being > moved by the VA. > > http://mde.srs-inc.com/aboutmde.html > > It is interesting that he mentioned that it will be inexpensive to move the > data from one SQL database to another, but the cost of the move from mumps to > the SQL database will certainly not be. > > I wonder what the cost of performing the needed maintenance to a the mumps > database would be as compared to the cost of this move. > > > On Wednesday 24 November 2004 01:08 am, Joseph Dal Molin wrote: > > Could you please provide the URL for this so it is adequately > > referenced....thanks!!! > > > > Joseph > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Here it is Nancy. > > > > > > Tom Henderson > > > > > > > > > > > > FOIA version of Vista remains available despite recent changes > > > /*By Joseph Conn <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> / *November 17, 2004/ > > > // > > > Despite plans to overhaul its Vista clinical system, the Veterans > > > Health Administration will continue to offer copies of its > > > multimillion-dollar software to private-sector users for a nominal fee > > > under the Freedom of Information Act, according to the Department of > > > Veterans Affairs' top physician informaticist. > > > > > > "We have the full support of the VHA leadership to continue to keep this > > > in the public domain," said Robert Kolodner, M.D., acting chief health > > > informatics officer at the VHA and deputy chief information officer for > > > health at the VA. > > > > > > On Nov. 8, the VA published a request for vendors to submit statements > > > of their capability to provide the VA with what it called "rehosting > > > support." It also called for vendors to provide routine service and > > > support for the VA's Vista healthcare information technology system. > > > > > > Kolodner said the move also would have no immediate impact on an effort > > > initiated by the VA and the CMS to develop a version of Vista for the > > > physician office practice. That software should be ready by summer 2005, > > > according to the CMS. > > > > > > One goal of the proposed five-year contract is to move the VA's > > > healthcare IT system from the programming language and database on which > > > it was first written in the late 1970s and where it remains today: from > > > MUMPS, or the Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming > > > System (now known as M), to, as much as possible, open-source versions > > > of the Java programming language and possibly at least two relational > > > database systems, Kolodner said. > > > > > > Kolodner said the VA initially plans to run a national database on > > > software from Oracle Corp. and regional databases on the relational > > > database portion of Cache, a program by InterSystems Corp., which > > > incorporates a proprietary version of M now used by the VA. > > > > > > "But it could be on (Microsoft's) Sequel Server or SQL or any other > > > database," Kolodner said, adding the VA would incur a "relatively small > > > cost" to convert Vista from one database to another if need be. > > > > > > "We've had a history of staying vendor-independent," he said. > > > > > > Within the VA, M has developed almost a religious following among > > > programmers for its speed, dependability, flexibility and scalability, > > > and several of today's leading commercial healthcare IT systems have M > > > at their core. But Kolodner said it is time to switch. > > > > > > "MUMPS has served us very well over the last 20 years," he said. "We > > > have done a lot with it, and it has supported our needs." > > > > > > However, many M vendors have been bought by InterSystems and a > > > once-thriving MUMPS user group has gone defunct. Today, there are fewer > > > programmers skilled in M than in a more modern language, such as Java. > > > > > > "There are times when it is much too expensive and takes much too long > > > to make changes and support the needs that we have," he said. "Java is > > > taught in more schools than MUMPS is." > > > > > > In addition, Java and relational databases are better suited together, > > > he said. > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > > 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://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > > Hardhats-members mailing list > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > -- > 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://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/ > _______________________________________________ > Hardhats-members mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 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. 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