There is a rumor that WorldVISTA will indeed port VISTAOffice to GT.M/Linux within "days" of it's release. I am certain that there is a rumor because I started it (based on emails with Joseph.)
At the American College of Physicians Annual Scientific Session we will have an EHR Challenge with vendors competing against each other to process a live patient in real time on a random problem with no pre-knowledge of the domain to be covered. We will lead off the challenge with a demo of VISTAOffice, or as close as we can get given our session is in April and the release isn't until May. Last year we had a patient with Somatazation Syndrome who also had diabetes. Tim Cook and I lead off with TORCH2 and although we had to scurry off to our Open Source EHR session and didn't get to compare our performance with the commercial vendors, word was that it was a reasonable reference standard to compare to.
This year given the imminent release and widespread anticipation of VISTAOffice, we think it will be a popular session.
BTW - if any open source vendor can get themselves to San Francisco O/A April 13-14, I will see if we can get you entered into the challenge. - Please let me know.
Bruce Slater
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tomlinson, Steven B" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 6:10 PM
Subject: RE: Federal office VistA coming
Wondering out loud (as I am prone to do) does anyone know if the CMS software is going to be distributed for the Intersystems Cache M or GT.M?
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 1:42 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Federal office VistA coming
Ironically the VSA founders did not include Sanchez/Fidelity, who thanks to the foresight and intestinal fortitude of K.S. Bhaskar open sourced GT.M for Linux and x86 platforms.... which IMHO is the pebble in the pond that led a new and invigorated VistA community.
J.
Daniel L. Johnson wrote: > Dear All, > > One of the entertaining -- and maddening -- characteristics of the open > software arena is that it on one hand permits people distributed in > space and time to cooperate constructively and efficiently while on the > other hand it makes it easy for people with essentially similar goals to > energetically fork projects and ideas (inefficiently). > > As you may know, the US bureaucracy managing Medicare is launching a > massive campaign to promote primary care office-based HIT (healthcare > information technology, not assault). > > This effort includes yet another VistA effort (sigh) which as far as I > know is developmentally independent of all other efforts to bring VistA > into the office arena. However, as scripture says, "he that is not > against us is for us" and I surely hope this optimistic mantra is > correct here. > > Quoting a recent journal, "The VA and the Centers for Medicare & > Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to release a version of VistA tailored to > medical practices in mid-2005. The new software, VistAOffice EHR, will > be released into the public domain." > > Barbara Boykin is chairman of the VistA Software Alliance. (I am so glad > that the VSA accepts the traditional meaning of "man" as hu-man and not > "male". It just makes the English so much less Gordian.) > > The web site is: http://www.vistasoftware.org/ > > This organization has a nine--member BOD; the "founding board members" > are Document Storage Systems, Inc, Hewlett-Packard, InterSystems Corp, > Medical Alliances, Inc., Medsphere Systems Corp (a friendly face, eh?), > Oleen Healthcare Info. Mgt., Perot Systems Corp., and Sea Island Systems > (another friendly face). > > Beginning Oct 1, 2004, CMS will begin an intense effort to interest > primary care docs in adopting HIT through the state PROs (professional > review organizations, the non-profit, physician-led corporations that > for about 30 years have contracted with CMS, the agency formerly known > as HCFA, to fulfill Medicare's legal obligation to review health care > quality. > > Each PRO will be required to constructively aid physician offices in > choosing and installing HIT systems during the 8th Scope of Work, which > runs from 1 October 2005 through 30 September 2007, and will be graded > on the number of offices successfully implementing systems. (I speak as > a trustee of the Wisconsin PRO.) > > Whether we are frustrated or thrilled by the details of this effort, it > *is* an opportunity to encourage the development and use of publicly > available, licence-free software in the physician offices of the US. > > Best wishes for a pleasant and peaceful finale to 2004. > > Dan Johnson md > Menomonie, WI > > > . >
