Fixing the blame on the EHR mess

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Lobbyists

You hit the nail on the head. There are more than 200 EHRs, each lobbying for a place in the sun.

WorldVistA, based on the largest EHR (the Veterans Administration's VistA), is free, open source, and GPL-licensed (open source is not enough -- we need a GPL-license). It could fit the bill for most practitioners.

The government needs to step up to the plate to ensure ongoing sponsorship of a national EHR. It pays over $750 million to HP for consulting contracts to support the VA's EHR -- shouldn't some of the resulting EHR software improvements be channeled to the beneift of our national healthcare system?

EPIC, used by Kaiser, Sutter systems of Northern California, and some University of California hospitals, is similar in its database to WorldVistA's. This is not an accident -- the database is decades old, and used by some of the largest financial institutions in the country as well.

So why do we have to reinvent the EHR wheel every 3 years, while penalizing doctors for not implementing it, just so that sspecial interest software companies can continue their lobbying and jockeying?

There have been bills on the floor of Congress for over 4 years, now, to adopt and support a standardized EHR system, but the Congress refuses to vote on it.

This is another case of our Congress fiddling while the country burns. The tools are available (WorldVistA) -- where is the will of our Congress to support a national EHR?

Posted by: perspectoff   Posted on: 01/06/09  (Edited: 01/06/2009 @ 10:08) You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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