Department of Defense (DoD)

See the following -

VAPAHCS Named Most Wired Hospital For The Sixth Time

Staff Writer | Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | July 20, 2013

The Hospitals and Health Networks, a publication of the American Hospital Association, has named VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) as one of the Nation's Most Wired Hospitals. Read More »

VA’s Roger Baker Updates EHR Security Strategy

Patrick Ouellette | Health IT Security | March 4, 2013

Outgoing Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) CIO Roger W. Baker provided testimony last week on the VA and Department of Defense (DoD) joint EHR venture. In doing so, he highlighted how the organizations plan on maximizing data security with the new technologies. Read More »

Veterans Affairs CIO Eyes Budget Increase

J. Nicholas Hoover | Information Week | February 21, 2012

While IT spending across most of the federal government would be flat next year under President Obama's budget released last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would see a 6.9% increase, with much of the uptick going to improved electronic health records (EHRs).

Read More »

Veterans Affairs, Defense Depts. Spend Billions In Effort To Coordinate Records

Hannah Winston | The Center for Public Integrity | August 27, 2013

After two years and more than $1 billion spent, integrated health records system canceled Read More »

Veterans Journal: Retirees Spend 27% Less On Health Under TRICARE

George W. Reilly | Providence Journal | August 11, 2013

According to the Congressional Budget Office, military retirees spend 27 percent less for health care under TRICARE, the Defense Department’s managed-care provider, than they did when the program began in 1996. Read More »

Veterans Win Mixed Ruling On Exposure To Chemicals

Bob Egelko | SFGate | July 25, 2013

Thousands of military veterans who were exposed to chemicals during decades of secret weapons testing are entitled to up-to-date government information about possible health hazards but can't get government-funded health care outside the Department of Veterans Affairs system, a federal judge in Oakland has ruled. Read More »

Vets Call for VA EHR Optimization, Interoperability Advances

Sara Heath | EHR Intelligence | September 15, 2016

The Department of Veterans Affairs needs an overhaul of its Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture (Vista) EHR — either in the form of EHR optimization or a commercial EHR replacement — to improve care quality for American veterans, several veterans groups have claimed. Purchasing a commercial EHR may alleviate some of the VA’s issues in developing a robust health IT system, Harvey suggested. Few hearing witnesses disagreed that VA’s health IT infrastructure and EHR system need a significant overhaul...

Read More »

Vets Hit VA, DoD For Ditching Records Project

Bryant Jordan | Military.com | February 28, 2013

Leaders of several of the country's veterans' service organizations told lawmakers on Thursday that they need to push the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to keep going with a plan to integrate the medical records of troops and veterans. Read More »

Vets Need Help Moving Into Tech Careers After Military Service

Brittany Ballenstedt | Nextgov | June 10, 2013

Helping military veterans return to civilian life has been the focus of several new programs [...]. But there is at least one area where veterans could use some help, particularly when it comes to transitioning to tech careers: learning how to translate their skills into civilian jobs, one expert said Friday. Read More »

VistA and Epic: A Tale of Two Systems

Over the last few weeks, access to VA health care for veterans has been all over the news.  At the same time, the DoD is moving to procure a replacement EHR system.  So it seems there is no time like the present to review a recent RAND case studies report entitled “Redirecting Innovation in U.S. Health Care: Options to Decrease Spending and Increase Value.” The case studies include a chapter comparing America’s two most broadly deployed EHRs: The VA’s VistA and Epic.

Read More »

VistA as an EHR System Core for DoD

Here is a copy of the full text of the proposal submitted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Department of Defense in response to the Request for Information for an electronic health record (EHR) solution that can replace the existing DoD EHR system. This is the approach that makes the most sense as the current core EHR that the Department of Defense (DoD) uses is based on a 30-year-old version of VistA. The current EHR crisis facing DoD stems from the inability to upgrade this older version of VistA. What the VA is proposing is basically an upgrade to DoD's existing core EHR. Read More »

VistA Could Still Become DoD EHR

Zach Rausnitz | FierceGovernmentIT | March 17, 2014

The Defense Department may select the Veterans Affairs Department's electronic health record system when it procures its EHR, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said during a House hearing March 13.

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.

Read More »

VistA Lead Designer Slams Hagel For iEHR Approach

Dan Bowman | FierceEMR | July 8, 2013

A lead software designer for VistA recently called out Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for not taking a patient-centric approach to the creation of an integrated electronic health record between DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read More »

VistA's Scarlet Letter: A Gartner Rating

Molly Bernhart Walker | FierceGovernmentIT | July 18, 2013

An analyst firm's rating is one major obstacle standing between the Defense Department and the Veterans Affairs Department's Veterans Integrated System Technology Architecture. Read More »