Medsphere achieves complete EHR certification for OpenVista solution

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of open-source healthcare enterprise solutions, today announced complete electronic health record (EHR) certification in inpatient settings for the company's OpenVista electronic health record. Certification by InfoGard confirms that Medsphere customers using OpenVista are enabled to meet "meaningful use" standards and maximize federal assistance.

"The significance for Medsphere customers of OpenVista certification is clear but can't be overstated. Our customers can be certain that the solution they chose will get them to meaningful use and federal funding," said Medsphere President and CEO Mike Doyle. "More broadly, InfoGard certification of OpenVista also demonstrates that there are many more ways to meaningful use than through expensive, confining proprietary vendors. Open source can get you to meaningful use quickly, affordably, reliably and without the unnecessary baggage that proprietary systems bring."

Of course, hospitals can't meet federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding requirements if clinicians won't use the system. Brooklyn's Lutheran Medical Center has reached 93 percent physician adoption of OpenVista for computerized provider order entry. Similarly, Silver Hill Hospital, a nationally recognized psychiatric facility in New Canaan, Conn, has achieved 98 percent physician adoption of CPOE.

Midland Memorial Hospital, a HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 facility, effectively and rapidly moved the majority of physicians to electronic ordering within 90 days of their go live event in 2006.

"The adoptability and intuitive nature of the system is one of the reasons we were comfortable moving forward with OpenVista in the first place," explained David Whiles, director of information systems at Midland Memorial. "The affordability is very important, of course, but it wouldn't matter if the system didn't provide closed-loop medication management and other attributes that improve clinical workflow and patient care."

For hospitals that have not yet implemented an EHR, the certification of OpenVista is equally significant. Now that federal payments have begun, OpenVista is the certified solution that is adoptable, highly affordable, proven and can be implemented quickly enough to still maximize federal stimulus payments as soon as possible.

InfoGard also gave modular EHR certification in ambulatory environments to OpenVista. Medsphere is developing OpenVista for full EHR certification in ambulatory settings and is working closely with integrated health networks among current customers to enhance the system in clinically efficient and effective ways.