Medsphere Systems Corporation and BT have reached an agreement in which they will jointly promote Medsphere’s OpenVista® EHR under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, relieving hospitals of many costly and burdensome IT responsibilities.
Medsphere, the most experienced developer and implementer of VistA-derived electronic health record (EHR) solutions outside the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), will work with BT to promote the affordability of Medsphere’s business model and the proven nature of OpenVista by making the EHR available as a hosted service. The service will be available in the U.S. and will be based on BT Compute platform using a private cloud model.
“This is a challenging but exciting time to be in American healthcare because there is so much uncertainty and change,” said Bas Burger, president of BT in the Americas. “But change means exciting new ideas and opportunities for the best ideas to rise to the top, which is at the heart of our relationship with Medsphere. BT believes secure, hosted solutions and open, accessible platforms provide the best alternative for many hospitals.”
As the financial benefits of Meaningful Use wane and hospitals move toward maximizing the use of health IT solutions, it has become clear that interoperability, not just interfacing, is a predominant issue moving forward; so is providing EHRs and other solutions for hospitals with limited resources. In SaaS OpenVista, Medsphere and BT see a solution that satisfies both concerns.
“Medsphere and BT have taken some time to get to know one another, so we know there is a shared ethic of doing what is best for both American healthcare consumers and our respective companies,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “Hospitals are moving away from localized servers and onsite support to reliable remote access. With this relationship, Medsphere and BT are meeting the needs of all hospitals.”
Medsphere has proven the effectiveness of VistA outside the VA through successful implementations of the company’s OpenVista solution in private and non-federal facilities across the healthcare spectrum. The company also does development work on the VA’s VistA system and the VistA-derived Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) used in Indian Health Service facilities. In total, VistA-based systems enhanced by Medsphere are implemented in more than 400 sites of care across the United States.
With BT’s networked communications heritage and strong health experience, the company’s vision is to transform the way healthcare is delivered, allowing organizations to save money, integrate information and improve the lives of patients and employees. It is one of the largest providers of healthcare technology in the world and delivers a range of services across the globe, including complex and large infrastructure contracts for new build hospitals, telehealth and telecare provision and electronic health records work.
