A Guided Tour of Vista Computerized Patient Record System Electronic Health Records Software Review

"This is a quality piece of work that focuses on success factors implementing an Office Practice Management and Electronic Health Records system."John Moustakakis, CIO, Westchester Medical Center, Hawthorne, NY"An excellent resource for all nurses - especially Advanced Practice Nurses - considering the selection of an Electronic Health Record system or learning about the implementation process."Nadia Sultana, Clinical Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator, Nursing Informatics Master's and Advanced Certificate Programs, New York University College of Nursing, NYJUST RELEASED! THIS VALUABLE RESOURCE CAN HELP YOU DECIDE IF VistA CPRS IS RIGHT FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION The Guided Tour is a self-contained resource with essential information an organization needs to conduct a due diligence evaluation of electronic health records software. This Guided Tour is focused on VistA CPRS (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture Computerized Patient Record System) software, available for free as a download from the Veterans Administration website. This is one in a series of reports describing our experiences evaluating electronic health records (EHR) software. Our goal is to help medical organizations successfully adopt EHR software and optimize their clinical and administrative management functions. This report presents key decisions and important considerations that should be weighed before spending valuable time and thousands of dollars implementing an EHR solution, and VistA CPRS in particular. Research indicates that many EHR system implementations fail to meet expectations. This reflects the difficulty in finding a solution matched to the needs of the practice - especially when there are hundreds of vendor offerings from which to choose!This guide provides help to overcome these obstacles.Our findings are based on hands-on testing in a dedicated computer environment, field research in clinical settings, and experiences working with leading vendors of electronic health records software. We have conducted detailed industry analyses of over 200 vendors and their offerings. This report is intended for the following types of readers:Chief medical information officers, Health Information Management professionals, industry consultants and decision makers: This guide provides numerous details that are needed to determine if Vista CPRS software will suit the needs of the practice. Physicians, Advanced Practice Nurses, practice administrators, and other clinical Staff who wish to learn more about VistA software, and what it is like to implement and use it: Lots of actual system screen-shots and flow charts are included to depict the user experience, in the absence of hands-on access to the VistA CPRS software. Essential system information is presented in a concise format, sparing the reader hours of painstaking research and time consuming data collection. Educators and students who want or need to learn about EHR software or VistA in particular: This guide shows what clinical and practice management tasks are supported in VistA CPRS and how these tasks are supported. This guide can be used as a reference in any undergraduate or graduate level medical informatics course. Developers of EHR solutions: This guide provides details on features and functions that should be incorporated into an EHR solution. TOPICS INCLUDE:Motivation for EHR AdoptionReview ApproachVistA CPRS Installation and MaintenanceDocumentation, Training, & Technical SupportUser Interface Features and FunctionsAmbulatory Medical Office Workflow Detailed VistA CPRS Evaluation Checklist Due Diligence Guidelines for EHR SelectionROI and Financial Analysis for VistA CPRS Implementation Assessment of VistA CPRS SPECIAL FEATURES:Flowcharts summarizing key concepts Numerous color screen-shots illustrating major features and functionsStep-by-step implementation instructionsSelf-help guides for EHR Evaluation