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What is Vistapedia?

Vistapedia is a wiki for several varieties of the public-domain version of VistA (the EHR software platform developed within the US Veteran's Administration). Information about the integrated VistA installer called Astronaut and the Indian Health Service' RPMS EHR is also contained within these pages.

This wiki covers installation, configuration, and usage of these VistA derivatives. It also serves as an introduction to the VistA Documentation Library for everyone outside the VA. Current events, development advances, and other news about the flavors of VistA are also posted here.

This wiki runs the same software as Wikipedia; using it is similar to using Wikipedia.

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Current events

Current events -- The 20th VistA Community Meeting was larger and more energetic than before.

Versions of VistA

There are several versions of VistA that are used outside of the VA. (See this page for some introductory information regarding aspects of the different versions.)

• WorldVista (GPL licensed) (Home) (Download) (Installation) (Astronaut installer)

• OpenVista (AGPL licensed) (Home) (Download) (Installation) (Astronaut installer)

• vxVista (EPL licensed) (Home) (not downloadable)

• FOIA Vista (public domain under FOIA) (Home) (Download)

(Other versions such as da Vinci Vista, VOE Vista, and Hui Vista no longer exist or are no longer maintained.)

What is Vista?

VistA is an electronic health record programmed by federal (US) employees working for the Department of Veterans Affairs (previously Veterans Administration) over the past several decades. It is software in the public domain and is considered by many to be a national treasure.

For more info, see this page or the Wikipedia article on VistA.

What is RPMS?

RPMS is a public domain electronic health record that is used by the Indian Health Service (IHS). Prior to the 1980s it used a different architecture from VistA, but since the 80's it has shared a large amount of its architecture with VistA. It is strong in population-based and outpatient-based outcomes reporting. It is not currently available for download (because IHS has not made a FOIA release available). It may be available in the future.

• Usage of RPMS in West Virginia community clinics

Detailed Information

• How does VistA work? -- basic information about VistA's components.

• Where do I Start? -- Start here.

• FAQ -- common Questions about VistA.

• Usage -- start using VistA once it is successfully installed

• Popular pages -- frequently viewed pages in this wiki.

• Categories -- good for browsing.

• Special pages -- a form of Table of Contents for this wiki.

• VistA Community Challenges -- the issues we're trying to solve currently.

• Meaningful Use -- analyses of the EHR requirements to qualify for stimulus funds from the US government.

In development

• ePrescribing

• Heath Information Exchange

• Working with Scanned Documents

Other content

• Old Main Page
• Popular pages
• Categories
• Installation Overview (old)

• Other client modules

Other resources

VistA enthusiasts and developers connect through the Hardhats Google Group. For more info, email: info at worldvista dot org.

To get access to Vistapedia, contact David Whitten ( whitten at worldvista.org ) through an e-mail, or phone 713 870 3834 to get an account. Please send a contact telephone number with your e-mail, and/or have an e-mail address ready when you call. (I need both.) Please decide on your preferred User name and send it as well. We have provided a page for new users and their current status. Thank you.