Matthew, Wendell:
I think it is important for both the Hardhats and the WV groups to develop
a concerted information program that clearly explains both the conceptual
content issues as well as the implementing technology in the context, now,
of the emerging ONCHIT program for informatics standards based system.
VistA needs explanation to practitioners in terms of criteria that will be
used by the CCHIT (Certification Commission for Health Information
Technology) and this can be done. How the upcoming HITSP (Health
Information Technology Standards Panel) will coordinate the various
aspects of standards coordination and standards utilization in its
expected replacement of the present ANSI Health Informatics Standards
Board remains to be seen but it will have a major influence on the VA's (
and othe federal healthcare agencies) activities and how that will
affect the rest of the healthcare community remains to be seen. But the
information packet should present all aspects of this situation. It is my
belief that the WV Education Committee should have (and be seen as having)
a key role in these informational activities and the Hardhats
contributions should clearly be seen as a coordinated aspect of this
effort. Potential VistA acquirers will then perceive that someone knows
what they are talking about in both the broad as well as the short view.
The relationship to the COTS market should be an aspect because such
components may be valuable parts of an acquiring health enterprise
information architect; the market will not be all one and none of the
other. Such a posture will gain the involvement of the health professional
specialty disciplines in presenting alternatives for their members. The
work of the IHS variants of the VistA (RPMS) needs more visbile inclusion
as I have heard numerous reports from various sources who have looked at
their configurations; How the VA and IHS configurations may be useful
needs much more explanation.
On Tue, 13 Sep 2005, Wendell Murray wrote:
Matthew: You're right on the mark in regard to how people, in particular
clinicians, view and understand VistA particularly vis-a-vis commercial
systems. People make strong statements about the system without having a
clue what they are talking about. The wiki concept is excellent and the
current outline is good, but it needs to be filled in and greatly amplified!
I hope to have an adequate understanding of the system within a month or so
to make some sort of contribution. Wendell Murray
On 9/13/05, Matthew King <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hardhats,
The Community Health Centers in AZ are forming the Arizona Integrated
Network (AIN) to formally integrate information technology services,
financial management, and clinical initiatives. We are have included VistA
Office in our EHR evaluation. Last Wednesday we met in Page, AZ and I was
shocked when one of the lead collaborators to the CMS project (by conference
call) basically concluded her VistA product evaluation by saying she
couldn't recommend it. Her reasons included poor interfacing capabilities,
out-dated language (M) and missing modules needed for community health
centers. She also believed the costs to implement and support it would
pretty much offset any software cost savings. (She did say it was wonderful
for the VA.)Later, when evaluating a second (commerical) product, she
mentioned many of the same problems, but was optimistic they would be easy
to achieve by working with the vendor. During the discussions this became
clear:
1) Everybody has an opinion of VistA, of most of it based on incomplete
or faulty information.
2) Commercial Vendors have a lot of influence on the decision-makers in
my health-care setting.
3) Our IT experts really don't understand Mumps or Open Source philosophy
or software. They either feel threatened or that it is not reliable or
compatible enough to run in our healthcare environment.
The resulting baised view means it is difficult for Stakeholders like
myself to make informed decisions. With the interest in VistA increasing
exponentially, this problem will increase.
I wonder if we could start a Wiki that (non-techie) decision-makers can
ask and receive accurate information regarding VistA and its flavors. Maybe
compatibility issues, support cost issues and the like can be addressed.
Ultimately, this would save a ton of work and help straighten out all the
misconceptions flying around.
Thank you,
Matthew King, MD
Medical Director
Clinica Adelante, Inc
Surprise, AZ
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