Medsphere Joins ProSphere in VA VistA Enhancement Project

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of open source electronic health record (EHR) solutions and services derived from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) VistA EHR, today announced that the company is partnering with ProSphere Tek to develop File Manager (FileMan) version 23. FileMan, VA VistA’s core data management utility, enables the operation of VistA applications and modules, all working with integrated data.

Medsphere will focus specifically on enhancing FileMan to develop VistA’s fundamental data architecture and internal data management.

“We appreciate the trust both ProSphere and VA have shown in Medsphere’s VistA experience and expertise, especially with regard to FileMan,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “Medsphere has significantly enhanced FileMan for use outside the VA, and we contributed that version of FileMan to the Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA), making it available to non-federal hospitals who want to affordably improve care. This project gives us the opportunity to continue our contribution to VA improvements, which benefit the men and women who have served our nation.”

The VA has made clear that upgrades to FileMan are only one project in a much broader multi-year VistA modernization effort. Over time, VistA will be upgraded and made interoperable with the EHR system selected by the Department of Defense. Interoperability and system improvements are intended to enable seamless medical records transfer as American military personnel move from the Military Health System to the Veterans Health Administration.

Medsphere is also currently working with Hewlett-Packard to test and remediate FileMan enhancements developed at the regional level in VA’s Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). That version, FileMan v22.2e, will soon be moved from class 3 to class 1 enterprise software as a result of the project and will be implemented as the core of VistA in all VA hospitals and clinics until FileMan 23 is completed and fully implemented.

About Medsphere Government Services

Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., with presence throughout the U.S., Medsphere Systems Corporation is both an award-winning small business and a dedicated group of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Experienced with large-scale healthcare systems, Medsphere’s Government Services Division (GSD) specializes in healthcare IT and open source technology solutions that best serve the needs of our federal clients. With expertise in legacy VistA and Vista-derived components and the technologies used to modernize them, GSD offers superior software development and systems integration for open source and commercial health IT solutions.

Medsphere GSD provides full life cycle development and support for the Indian Health Service’s (IHS) Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS), which provides clinical support for over 400 clinics and hospitals on Native American lands. Our established partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) includes interfacing VistA with third-party applications, validation testing of ICD-10 transition and certification of VistA for Meaningful Use. Medsphere GSD’s unique skill set and varied experience is the product of hundreds of task and work orders awarded in support of IHS, VA and DoD.