Dr. Stephan Foreman, RMU health
care economist, identified the electronic medical record (EMR) as a public good, a marketplace for
information about patients. Foreman observed that the public wants EMR systems to communicate with other, a goal that
is furthered by VistA and WorldVistA, but not
necessarily by commercial organizations. He sees VistA
and WorldVistA as solutions in a situation where profit markets have difficulty
delivering standardization and interoperability. Foreman emphasized that EMRs
other than VistA offered on the WorldVistA
model are too expensive for primary care practice physicians and too expensive
for educational institutions wanting to use EMRs in the education of health
care professionals. Foreman called for advocacy to further WorldVistAs goals
and pointed out how the public has been served by standards and
interoperability in highways, railroads, and in other domains.
WorldVistA Education Conference
participants attended demonstrations of the VAs Computerized Patient Record
System (CPRS), VistAs database technology
(FileMan), and other topics.
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If you would like more information
about the First WorldVistA Education Conference, or to schedule an interview
contact:
Contact: Joseph Dal Molin, VP Business Development
Tel.: 416.232.1206
Email: dalmolin@worldvista.org