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Cabinet members present included:
Department of Treasury, Secretary John W. Snow
Department of Defense, Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
Department of Agriculture, Secretary Mike Johanns
Department of Commerce, Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Department of Health & Human Services, Secretary Michael O. Leavitt
Department of Housing & Urban Development, Secretary Alphonso Jackson
Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Michael Chertoff
Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Stephen L. Johnson
Office of Management and Budget, Director Joshua B. Bolten
Office of National Drug Control Policy, Director John P. Walters
This meeting, marking the first time a Cabinet meeting was held at any VA facility, was a forum for agencies to develop greater understanding and cooperation in areas of mutual interest and concern. For example, both Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Leavitt expressed interest in the potential applications of electronic patient records for their agencies.
Cabinet members received an overview of medical center operations from Mr. Sanford M. Garfunkel, Medical Center Director. Dr. Perlin gave an orientation to VistA and Dr. Fletcher presented a functional presentation describing how CPRS and My HealtheVet are used from a clinical perspective.
Ever since President Bush encouraged this nation's medical community to move to electronic patient records, VA's VistA system has been held up as the gold standard. The President set a goal - all health records maintained by federal agencies are to be computerized in ten years. VistA, VA's electronic patient record system, is the model as it not only saves lives, according to clinicians who use it, it also has the potential to save dollars.
Healthcare leaders from Afghanistan to Jordan have sought demonstrations. International government agencies serving veterans from as far away as China have come to the U.S. to see it in action. The governments of Finland and Mexico have adopted it as their own. Members of Congress have it under close review and medical associations are clamoring for presentation time.
My HealtheVet ,CPRS and BCMA (Bar Code Medication Administration) make up a comprehensive electronic record that puts years of patient data at a doctors' fingertips, including images, medication history, physician notes and patients' own home-generated health information (such as weight and blood pressure).
The record can be retrieved remotely from VA medical centers throughout the nation. The benefits of this electronic system were clearly demonstrated following the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. When hurricane evacuees from Gulfport, Mississippi arrived in Washington, DC, their health records were immediately accessible to clinicians. Prescriptions were refilled within hours of their arrival and there was no disruption in the delivery of appropriate healthcare.
VistA is being lauded by journalists, too. News articles in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, and Washington Monthly magazine call VA healthcare among the best in the nation and attribute much of VA's success to VistA. Programs on National Public Radio and Public TV's "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" heap praise on the system, too.
But, never has it come under the scrutiny of a more influential group than on October 7 when the Cabinet spent several hours at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.
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