A Meaningful Hurdle the VA Still Hasn't Crossed

Question: What has a small band of open-source programmers and a handful of health information technology vendors accomplished that the massive U.S. Veterans Affairs Department has not?

Answer: Attained certification for their versions of the VA's VistA electronic health-record system as capable of meeting the meaningful-use requirements under the health IT incentive payment program of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The latest VistA version to be certified as a complete, meaningful-use-compliant inpatient system is WorldVistA EHR 2.0, developed by the not-for-profit World VistA organization. Hat tip to Denise LeFevre, the chief information officer at 153-bed Oroville (Calif.) Hospital; to Dr. Matt King; and to programmer George Lilly for helping make it happen.