Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), recently announced the release of an evaluation version of VistA-Office Electronic Health Record (Vista-Office), an adaptation of the Veterans Health Administration electronic health record (EHR) technology. This version of the technology will allow for an evaluation of VistA-Office EHR and an assessment of its effectiveness in private physicians offices.
The evaluation version will be distributed by qualified vendors and evaluated for usability, effectiveness, implementation and potential for what is known as interoperability, or the ability to communicate, exchange, and use data with other systems and software. As a result of this evaluation, software vendors will be able to further improve the software and develop a version of VistA-Office EHR that is certified in accordance with a process recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The modified Vista-Office software retains existing VistA functions of such transactions as order entry, documentation templates, and clinical reminders, and is enhanced with other important functions including physician office patient registration, reporting of quality measures, and printing/faxing of medication prescriptions.
However, physicians should be aware that the Vista-Office evaluation software is not "free" software. There is a fee for obtaining the software on computer disk, and there will be other fees an office will need to pay to use the software including licensing and support fees for the database program and CPT® codes. In addition, offices will generally need vendor support for installation, configuration, and maintenance, similar to support with any other electronic health record. Physicians and clinics that are interested in participating in the program as an evaluation site, should visit www.vista-office.org to learn more about this opportunity. More information about the vendor training and a list of qualified vendors can be found at www.worldvista.org . For additional information, visit the CMS website at: www.cms.hhs.gov/quality.pfqi.asp.