I have been impressed lately with "the new team" at Medsphere. I have interacted with COO Rick Jung and CMO Dr. Edmund Billings. (I am disappointed that Mike Doyle and I have not met, but he is respected by some whom I respect.)

I am happy to see that Medsphere has finally taken a stand against the current political madness regarding "phasing out" VistA.

This press release from Medsphere.com reads:

This week, the Military Health Service is expected to decide on              whether to dismantle its proven electronic health record (EHR)              system, called VistA. Research demonstrates that VistA has              improved VA productivity by six percent each year since 1999 and              that, in a time of ever-rising healthcare costs, VA care has              become 32 percent more affordable than it was in 1996. The              organization has also achieved an unprecedented and unmatched              prescription accuracy rate of more than 99.997 percent, making it              a model for healthcare organizations everywhere. In fact, as private              hospitals across the country strive to achieve the holy grail of              automated, paperless environments (none has reached the mark yet),              it is striking to note that every public VA hospital is              already there thanks to VistA. Despite all of this, the Department              of Defense (DoD) appears determined to systematically dismantle              VistA and replace it with a proprietary solution that is              expensive, difficult to implement and has limited interoperability              with other systems. VistA advocates say the move makes little              sense, economically or strategically--it is not in the best              interest of our veterans, our working service men and women, or              taxpayers who would have to foot the exorbitant bill.

Over the past 30 years, a community of open source users has              developed VistA into a successful health care technology solution              that works with existing hardware and software and preserves              legacy IT investments in more than 130 regional centers across the              country. So why is the military fixing something that isn't              broken? Ironically, the military tried to do something similar by              installing a proprietary EHR system, named the Armed Forces Health              Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), in 2005. The solution              proved to be expensive, difficult to install and incapable of              working well with other systems. Now, it seems the DoD is heading              down the same path again towards a "vendor-locked" solution that              will cost billions up front and after implementation.

It is signed by CEO Mike Doyle, COO Rick Jung and CMO Dr. Edmund Billings.

I am relieved to see Medsphere taking a stand that benefits the whole VistA community. The long-term success of Medsphere is married to the success of VistA and the larger VistA community. Medsphere is in a great position to advocate in a way that VA employees cannot. Medsphere can reach and influence those who ignore me and the other revolutionaries who are already outspoken critics of the current VA/DOD boneheadedness. It is already getting some coverage, and it deserves more.

Bravo, Medsphere.

-FT