Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA)

See the following -

US Defense Think Tank Calls for DoD to Adopt the Open Source VistA EHR and Avoid Closed and Proprietary EHRs.

One of the most prestigious U.S. defense think tanks, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), issued a white paper Thursday calling on the Department of Defense (DoD) to replace their existing dysfunctional “vendor-lock” medical records system with an electronic health records system (EHR) that is "extensible, flexible and easy to safely modify and upgrade as technology improves and interoperability demands evolve." The white paper warns that a "closed and proprietary" commercial EHR - such as the ones offered by Epic, Cerner or Allscripts - will lead to "vendor-lock” and isolation of health data. Read More »

VA Asks DoD To Adopt Vista

Anne Zieger | EMR & EHR | April 2, 2013

For decades, the Department of Defense has struggled to build an EMR, but 20 years and $10 billion later, still hasn’t pulled together a satisfactory system. The DoD’s system, AHLTA, has seen project failure after project failure and still isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do efficiently. Now — at long last — DoD is looking at different options. Read More »

VA CIO Roger Baker Resigns - UPDATED

David Perera | FierceGovernmentIT | February 19, 2013

Baker's resignation notice comes shortly after the secretaries of the DoD and the VA announced the end of iEHR development. An insider who spoke on condition of anonymity said Baker's departure is voluntary and not directly tied to the iEHR decision, although the rolling back of a project identified closely with him was a factor. "He's exhausted," the insider said.

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VA Seeks A 10 Percent IT Funding Boost In 2014

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | April 11, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department requested $3.7 billion for its 2014 information technology budget -- a 10 percent jump over 2013 spending. W. Todd Grams, the department’s chief financial officer, told a press briefing Wednesday that IT is central to VA’s ability to deliver benefits. Read More »

VA, Defense ditch plans for common EHR

Joe Conn | Modern Healthcare | February 6, 2013

The long march to interoperability between the electronic health-records systems of the Veterans Affairs Department and the Department of Defense passed yet another milestone Tuesday as the secretaries of both announced they were scrapping a 5-year-old plan to achieve exchange capabilities by creating a single, common EHR for both healthcare systems.

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VA, DoD EHR Project: Security Game Plan

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee | GovInfoSecurity | March 1, 2013

Although the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense are taking a new approach to building their long-awaited integrated electronic health record system, many key components of the data security strategy for the project will remain the same, says Roger Baker, the VA's outgoing CIO. Read More »

VA, DOD Must Present EHR Interoperability Plan In January

Jennifer Bresnick | EHR Intelligence | December 13, 2013

The clock is ticking for the military’s on-again, off-again plan for EHR interoperability.  The 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, finalized by Congress on Wednesday, demands a detailed plan from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense outlining how exactly they will achieve adequate health information exchange. Read More »

VA, DoD Owe EHR Plan To Congress By End Of January

Dan Bowman | FierceEMR | December 13, 2013

Funding legislation agreed to by the House and Senate this week mandates that the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense present a plan for building either an interoperable or single electronic health record by the end of January. Read More »

VA/DoD Health Records: It's the Data, Not the Software

Bob Brewin | NextGov | July 10, 2013

Top officials at the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments said Wednesday they will create a system to exchange standard clinical health data, which will allow the departments to develop a single, shared electronic health record without the need to build a joint system from scratch. Read More »

VistA is Going Places, and Also Staying Put

The Veterans Health Administration's hospital software, VistA, is a computing legend. Few pieces of software have become the subject of a popular book (Best Care Anywhere), won repeated awards for their usability, or been credited with a 180-degree turn-around in an organization's quality. But VistA is getting long in the tooth, and many--including now the VA itself--are questioning whether it's time for something new.The speculations aren't just about VistA. They extend to all health care software of that generation, including the industry's leading electroinc health record (EHR) system--Epic--and the venerable Intermountain Healthcare.

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VistA Marketing Ramps Up in Advance of DoD EHR Award

Molly Bernhart Walker | FierceGovernmentIT | January 14, 2015

A marketing campaign aimed at raising the profile of the Veterans Affairs Department's open source electronic health record is in full swing. A non-profit group founded through a VA contract to advance the department's Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture has stood up a website, Twitter account and LinkedIn group to promote VistA. Read More »

What EHR Vendors Need To Know About Applying For Upcoming DoD Demos

Tom Sullivan | Government Health IT | October 8, 2013

Nothing like a tight turnaround on a massive tech and consulting project: The DoD on Friday published a notice — albeit neither solicitation nor RFP — revealing that during the week after next it will hold demonstrations essentially courting the EHR to replace its AHLTA. Oh, yes, and applications are due end of October 9, as in tomorrow. Read More »

Will The DoD Create Another Frankenstein EHR?

Donald Voltz | HIT Consultant | October 31, 2014

Will the DoD create another Frankenstein EHR monster? Don’t trick us with dead data, treat us with middleware connectivity, Dr. Donald Voltz writes...

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You Can Help Veterans In Just 2 Minutes

Staff Writer | Conservative Musings | March 31, 2013

To someone on the outside, the answer is clear: The DoD simply should adopt VistA, the Veteran's Affair's electronic health record. Here's why: Read More »