VA Seeks To Modernize VistA EHR System

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking expert advice as it takes the first steps to update its massive, decades-old electronic health records (EHR) system.

The department -- which has taken a series of actions in the last year and a half to reform its IT operations -- said it will use an open-source software development model to modernize VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture), according to arequest for proposals posted on FedBizOpps.gov.

VistA is a collection of about 100 integrated software modules for managing health records that has been in place since the 1970s, and comprises all of the hospital systems at various VA medical centers.
VistA has served the VA well over the years and is generally regarded as a highly successful system. It's one of the most widely used EHRs in the world; nearly half of all U.S. hospitals boasting full EHR implementations are VA hospitals that use VistA.

The VA has chosen open source as the means for modernizing the system for a number of reasons, according to the RFP. The department hopes to achieve greater innovation and breadth of function; improve the interoperability among VistA modules and with other systems; provide more rapid customization and better security; and improve its overall quality and robustness, according to the RFP.