Computerized medical records in the Department of Veterans Affairs

The VA Medical Center in Washington, DC, was the nexus for a number of comp uterization projects that were initiated by the Department of Veterans Affa irs. The culmination of these initiatives is a software package that presen ts the complete electronic patient record in an easy-to-use graphic user in terface. This record combines text data from the legacy data base, diagnost ic images from patient procedures, electrocardiograms from a commercial sen er, an Internet connection, and a hospital web site with pertinent referen ce information. The information is available in over 1000 places in the hos pital and can be accessed remotely using a remote access server. The comput erization of the medical record has improved hospital efficiency, has made physician access to patient information more reliable, has opened new oppor tunities for patient education, and has given healthcare providers more tim e to care for patients. Cancer 2001;91:1603-6. (C) 2001 American Cancer Soc iety.