What is VistA?:
Click here to view a video clip about VistA
VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems & Technology Architecture) was previously known as DHCP (Decentralized Hospital Computer Program). It was developed by the U.S. government for use in its veterans' hospitals and outpatient clinics. This system was designed and developed to support a high-quality medical care environment for the military veterans in the United States. The VistA system has a true client-server architecture. It has two kinds of clients. The graphical client, called the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) is primarily focused on information needed by the clinicians who are delivering care to patients. The second kind of client is the text component of VistA, it was the primary client interface when VistA was named DHCP.
VistA is written in several computer programming languages (MUMPS, Delphi, and Java). It is public domain and freely available through the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Click here for an screen shot of VistA in use.
The forms of clinical documentation entered using this system:
*clinical notes
*doctors' orders
*consultations
*procedure reports
*radiology and pathologic examinations
It provides a single interface for all authorized health care providers to review and update a patient's medical record and to place orders, including medications, special procedures, X-rays, patient care nursing orders, diets, and laboratory tests. A detailed audit trail of all transactions records who has accessed what data for what purposes. The system is flexible enough to be implemented in a wide variety of settings for a broad spectrum of healthcare workers. CPRS permits VHA clinical staff, at the point-of-care, to access a patient's record from anywhere within the Veterans health system across the United States. The comprehensive cover sheet displays timely, patient-centric information, including active problems, allergies, current medications, recent laboratory results, vital signs, hospitalisation, and outpatient clinic history. This information is displayed immediately when a patient is selected and provides an accurate overview of the patient's historical and current status before clinical interventions are ordered.
History and future of VistA:
*Development began on DHCP in the early 1980s.*DHCP grew rapidly and is used by many private and public health care facilities throughout the United States and the world. DHCP represented the total automation activity at most VA medical centers in 1985.
*In 1996, the Chief Information Office introduced VistA.
*Advancements have been made to VistA over the years to today.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs continues to re-evaluate and adapt VistA in the light of the latest technological advancements. Development is under way with client/server development environments using Delphi and custom Visual Component Libraries to communicate with M servers via a Remote Procedure Call Broker. Another significant development provides universal SQL access to the VistA databases. The SQL Interface permits vendors to offer even better integrated SQL access to Fileman files than is presently available. 4
Who's Using VistA?
VistA is the most broadly used health Information Technology system in the world today. 3 It is used on a daily basis by the VA's 193,000 healthcare professionals to provide healthcare to millions of veterans in 163 hospitals, 135 nursing homes, and 850 clinics. 1 Facilities range from small clinics to large medical centers with significant inpatient populations and their associated specialties.
Just a few of the facilities using Vista are:
* Department of Veterans Affairs
* Department of Defense Consolidated Health Care System (CHCS)
* Indian Health Service
* Pioneer Data Systems
* Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs
* Midland Memorial Hospital, Midland, TX
* Group Health Northwest
* California Children's Medical Services
Click here for a full list
References:
1 http://www.va.gov/
2 http://www.worldvista.org/
3 http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/wo rldview/protti4/
4 http://hardhats.org/