An HIT

Medsphere Systems (Carlsbad, California) has reported the release of open source code for recently developed components of the comprehensive OpenVista electronic health record (EHR) solution.

Medsphere's open source release, now available for download at www.medsphere.org, includes the OpenVista Interface Domain (OVID), the OpenVista Clinical Information System (CIS) 1.0RC1, and OpenVista Server 1.5SP1.

The company said this week's open source release provides its growing Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem with the platform and development tools to enhance and extend the OpenVista solution.

"This and previous releases of OpenVista code demonstrate that an open source approach to Health IT yields quality software based on applied and effective use, with the added benefit of promoting collaboration," said President/CEO Michael Doyle. "These developments are critical for hospitals aiming to maximize federal funding and go live with an EHR by January 2011, especially given the expectation of the government mandating interoperability."

OpenVista is the commercialized version of the VistA EHR created and developed by the Veterans Administration more than 20 years ago.

In other news from the HIMSS meeting:

• AirStrip Technologies (San Antonio, Texas) said that its product, AirStrip OB, has received FDA clearance for use on BlackBerry devices.

Airstrip OB is a mobile medical software application that sends vital waveform data, including fetal heart tracings and maternal contraction patterns, in virtual real time directly from the hospital's labor and delivery unit to the obstetrician's handheld mobile device. The data can be accessed anytime, from anywhere the doctor gets a cell-phone connection.

The only application of its kind available in the U.S., AirStrip OB is now installed in a growing number of hospitals and is in use by a large number of obstetricians on a variety of Windows Mobile handheld devices.

• GetWellNetwork (Bethesda, Maryland) shared key hospital outcomes data to demonstrate that patient engagement is a core strategy for performance improvement.

Interactive Patient Care technology has emerged as one of the most effective ways to proactively engage patients into their care process. This technology is being used by hospitals and health systems to empower patients to take a more active role in their care while in the hospital. The result has been measured advances in both patient outcomes and hospital performance.

"GetWellNetwork supports patient care in some very new and innovative ways, providing resources to educate patients about medications, helping to ensure patient safety and supporting our staff as they work to provide an optimal service experience," said Holly Fedak, RN, chief nursing officer at Parker Adventist Hospital (Parker, Colorado). "This is innovation at its finest, helping caregivers to care at the deepest level for their patients."

Some examples include:

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (Oakland, Michigan) demonstrated a 30% increase in patient completion of stroke education comprehension surveys to address key education requirements for Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center designation status.

Valley Medical Center (Renton, Washington) saw a 20% increase in local market share capture for breast cancer services by using GetWellNetwork's PatientLife System to cross-market to patients.