Oroville Hospital’s new vista

After more than six months of collaborating and tweaking a new electronic health-records (EHR) system, Oroville Hospital will soon become the first hospital in the United States to implement WorldVistA EHR 2.0, according to a hospital press release.

WorldVistA EHR 2.0 is the latest version of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), a system placed in the public domain to be adapted for use by other health organizations. The private hospital partnered with the nonprofit WorldVistA in January to make improvements, and the new system is expected to give doctors better access to charts, medication, and the overall health history of patients, as well as reduce potential for errors.

The new EHR got the OK from the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, a nonprofit that encourages the adaptation of health-information technology in the medical field, in early July. It will be packaged and available for use by other hospitals in the fall.