VistA--U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs national-scale HIS

Abstract

The Veterans Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a long, successful, and interesting history of using information technology to meet its mission. Each medical center is computerized to a degree that surprises the uninitiated. For example, medical documentation and ordering are computerized at every facility. A sophisticated national infrastructure has been developed to replicate, support, and evolve single-center successes. With advances in inter-facility networking, data sharing, and specialized central support and technical tools, VistA is becoming a single, highly scalable national health information system (HIS) solution. In this paper, we present an historical overview of VistA's development, describe its current functionality, and discuss its emergence as a national-scale hospital information system.