Leader in open source healthcare IT brings extensive code convergence and implementation experience with OpenVista®, derived from the VA’s VistA and IHS’ RPMS systems
CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of open source healthcare IT solutions and services, today announced that the company has accepted an invitation to join the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA) community, adding the company’s considerable experience with code convergence and implementation of VistA-based EHR solutions to the ongoing efforts of OSEHRA participants.
Established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in August 2011, OSEHRA is focused on establishing a code repository to enable developer collaboration and contribution to architectural and Web-based enhancements of the VA’s VistA electronic health record.
The invitation from OSEHRA recognizes Medsphere’s long history of code convergence and open source development of VistA-derived health IT systems. While developing OpenVista®, a comprehensive EHR solution, Medsphere has also made software code and associated development tools available to the open source community, with more than 15,000 software downloads to date.
“Medsphere shares the VA’s vision of a self-sustaining open source health IT ecosystem as a counterbalance to the exceedingly costly proprietary solutions that most hospitals cannot afford. We’re very excited and honored to be a part of OSEHRA and to contribute our real-world experience converging code and implementing VistA-based EHR solutions,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “With regard to healthcare improvement and IT, there must be affordable alternatives for the thousands of hospitals and clinics in America that, while operating on very thin margins, still serve as the only local sources of care.”
In terms of procedure and protocol, OSEHRA was also established to create open and accessible standards of EHR development by nurturing a robust community of individual developers rooted in a new model of federal software development and procurement. The OSEHRA community is actively engaged in the advancement of VistA-based EHRs, the support of joint EHR development between VA and the Department of Defense, and the promotion and support of EHR software and related technology throughout the healthcare industry.
“The OSEHRA project is pleased that Medsphere has officially joined our ongoing effort to effectively develop interoperable health IT solutions for the benefit of the collective whole,” said DaCosta Barrow, chief operating officer of OSEHRA. “Medsphere’s code convergence and tool development experience will raise the collaboration level of the entire project and will have exponential benefits for the open source development community creating an affordable EHR alternative for hospitals and clinics.”
Since its inception in 2002, Medsphere has focused on enhancing the OpenVista EHR solution through homegrown development and convergence of the VA’s VistA and Indian Health Service’s Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) code bases. Medsphere has also supported both the VA and Department of Defense in project-based VistA and VistA-derivative development efforts. This experience in helping organizations to create and maintain their own VistA-based EHR solutions will help OSEHRA to better support its growing community.
About OSEHRA
OSEHRA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating innovation in electronic health record software and related technology. Founded in 2011, the organization supports an open, collaborative community of users, developers, and researchers engaged in advancing electronic health record software and related health information technology. OSEHRA hosts software repositories for applications such as the Department of Veterans Affairs’ VistA electronic health record.
About Medsphere and OpenVista®
Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., Medsphere Systems Corporation is an award-winning organization of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Medsphere’s OpenVista® is a portfolio of clinical support products and professional services that leverages an electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. VistA is widely credited with helping transform the VA into the nation's most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. Medsphere’s OpenVista, the most fully commercialized VistA offspring, is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion investment, which recent studies show have yielded $3.09 billion in benefits, primarily from the near elimination of medication administration issues and duplicate testing.
Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model enables hospital, clinic and integrated delivery network customers to pay for OpenVista from their operating budget with no upfront costs or back-end balloon payments. Expert implementation and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine in six to nine months. Medsphere also actively nurtures the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem, a global community of customers, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation, and provide a parallel development and support structure.
CONTACT:
Medsphere Systems
David Macfarlane, 760-692-3751
[email protected]
or
Stalwart Communications
David Oats, 858-750-5560
[email protected]
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