News Clips

Seed Money Still Flowing for Sonoma County Startups

Steve Hart | Press Democrat | January 30, 2011

Tolven received $3.6 million in venture capital in the fourth quarter last year, its first round of venture funding since launching the business in 2006... Read More »

GMH Stands to Gain $5M: Subsidy Hinges on Electronic Health Records System

Laura Matthews | Pacific Sunday News | January 30, 2011

[Guam's] only civilian hospital could qualify for millions in federal subsidies if it successfully implements electronic health records systems.  According to Norman Okamura, faculty member of the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Hawaii, about $19 billion is set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build health information technology systems nationwide. Read More »

For Doctors, EHR Adoption Isn't A Spectator Sport

Rebecca Armato | InformationWeek | January 29, 2011

 Just as the right medical treatment is critical to a patient's health, the right approach to selecting and adopting an electronic health records system is critical to the health, and even survival, of a physician's practice. And it's not just about the technology. Read More »

A Changing of the Guard at VAWatchdog.org, as Larry Scott Steps Aside

Mike Francis | OregonLive.com | January 29, 2011

Until Larry Scott of Vancouver conceived the notion of becoming an online watchdog, military veterans who were struggling to navigate their claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs had few places to turn. Read More »

VA Seeks To Modernize VistA EHR System

Elizabeth Montalbano | InformationWeek | January 28, 2011

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.

Read More »

VA Wants Help Modernizing Health Records System

Alice Lipowicz | Washington Technology | January 28, 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department is looking for expert help in developing an open source software model for modernization of its long-standing VistA (Veterans Health Information and Systems and Technology Architecture) health records system.

The department published a solicitation on Jan. 26 for technical services for the Vista Open Source Custodial Foundation Acquisition, along with a Statement of Work for the program. Read More »

Mobile Services in Poor Countries: Not Just Talk

The Economist Staff | The Economist | January 27, 2011

Clever services on cheap mobile phones make a powerful combination—especially in poor countries. Read More »

VA to increase simulated medical training with new center of excellence

Bob Brewin | NextGov | January 27, 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department plans to increase the use of medical simulation training for clinicians so they can learn how to conduct complex procedures in a setting that imitates real-life situations without putting patients at risk, Dr. Robert Petzel, VA's undersecretary for health said at a media briefing this morning.

Read More »

VA Inches Toward a New Open VistA

Bob Brewin | NextGov | January 27, 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department put out a request on Wednesday for technical help to develop a new, modern version of its decades-old Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) electronic health record system.

In March 2010, an industry advisory group tapped by VA CIO Roger Baker recommended the department update VistA, which is based on open source models and offered as the international standard for hospitals.

Sen. Murray selected chair of Veterans Affairs panel

Hal Bernton | Seattle Times | January 27, 2011

Sen. Patty Murray was named chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday, and says she hopes to keep the Obama administration focused on the medical care and benefits due those who have served in the military.

"I am one who will hold any president accountable — regardless of political party — accountable for making sure that veterans get the care they need," said Murray, a Washington state Democrat. Read More »

Army Looks to Virtual Reality to Better Treat PTSD

Molly Bernhart Walker | Fierce Government IT | January 26, 2011

One hundred and fifty six active duty Army soldiers committed suicide in 2010, according to data released by the Army on Jan. 20, and post-traumatic stress disorder continues to be a major problem among the active duty and veteran populations. In an effort to combat PTSD,  48 Army healthcare sites now use virtual reality as an alternative treatment. Read More »

VA Center Director Touts Progress

Steve Calahan | Lacrosse Tribune | January 26, 2011

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care system has become one of the best anywhere, partly because of a big change made in mid-1990s, the director of the Tomah VA Medical Center said Tuesday.

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Journal Files Suit to Open Medicare Database

Russell Adams | Wall Street Journal | January 26, 2011

The publisher of The Wall Street Journal filed suit Tuesday to overturn a decades-long court order barring public access to a confidential Medicare database it says is essential to rooting out fraud and abuse in the government health-care program.

The American Medical Association, the doctors' trade group, successfully sued the government in 1979 to keep secret how much money individual doctors receive from Medicare, and the ruling still stands. Read More »

What Do The Internet And Electronic Health Records Have In Common?

Zina Moukheiber | Forbes | January 26, 2011

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama cited computer chips and the Internet as examples of technologies that were originally funded by the government, and later unleashed new industries.  Read More »

Let’s Go Open-Source With Digital Patterns Making

Zoe Romano | P2P Foundation | January 26, 2011

Susan Spencer Conklin is a networker, she’s not a programmer, but knows about programming, she’s not a designer but knows how to sew and in the last months she’s been giving presentations to invite developers to help create a suite of open source software to produce and modify clothing patterns in open data formats to match an individual’s body measurement and generate customized patterns as printable files. Read More »