VA Moves Toward Open Source for Electronic Health Record System

The Veterans Affairs Department asked industry, government agencies and academic researchers last week for insights on using open source software as a key component of a modernized electronic heath record system, a move that could have serious implications for the Obama administration's initiative for adoption of digital medical files nationwide.

In a request for information issued on Aug. 11, VA said it is evaluating the viability of including open source as part of the development of upgrading its decades-old health record system, Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA).