VistA as an Electronic Health Record
Development of VistA began at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over 20 years ago and continues to this day. The central feature is the computerized patient record, to which over 100 applications can be linked to customize patient care. The resulting patient-centric electronic health record system has allowed the VA to maintain a high standard of healthcare throughout all of its facilities and to receive public recognition for the quality of its care.
The Institute of Medicine has called the VistA electronic records system “one of the best healthcare information systems in the nation.” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson praised the VA as a “national leader in the development and use of computerized patient records.”
VistA provides healthcare organizations with all of the tools needed to improve patient safety and lower costs, including:
- Computerized order entry
- Bar code medication administration
- Electronic prescribing
- Record tracking, electronic billing, electronic data exchange
- Safety incident tracking
- Radiology and imaging
- Clinical Reminders
- Dietetics, nursing, and laboratory management
