RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
I believe management and the VHA architects understand the Zachman Framework quite well. And while it may not be used 100%, I sincerely doubt there is any kind of willful ignorance of the broad picture. If VistA were an ecosystem it would be like Yellowstone when the wolves were removed some 70 years ago ... the culture of VistA can sometimes seem dangerous and will sometimes eat your favorite offspring (or code, rotten as it was ;). But that culture (and to a large extent the M technology that supports it so well) like the wolves of Yellowstone is crucial to the overall ecological balance. The folks who removed the wolves were by and large well meaning (it's what the surrounding culture demanded, people and property were paramount). We know better today ... and wolves are back keeping grazing animals in check, and trees and shrubs and all the flora and fauna that depend on protective cover are now beginning to thrive again. Half a dozen years ago Gartner declared that MUMPS was a dying technology. Today Gartner (different people though) recognize M as a thriving market able to work with new technologies with the best of them. A hard thing for any leader to do is admit that earlier direction they may have given wasn't entirely accurate. And even harder is to stick to one's principles when everyone around you is telling you to abandon those principles because the direction has to change due to facts. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of A. Forrey Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 3:43 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade Cameron: How do you think the "New Management" reacts to the use of the Zachman principles (otherwise known as Eanterprise Architecture Planning) that Principi mandated before he left. How can such wilful ignorance of the broad picture endure if the "management" is to respond to the CMU-SEI criticisms? Reasonable mastery of EAP would understand the state of the Technical Infrastructure unless willful ignorance prevails as it did during the Gnomes of Darkness days 25 yrs ago. On Fri, 6 May 2005, Cameron Schlehuber wrote: > That article certainly points to the risks of adding on applications to a > legacy system. And if you never change the legacy system the kind of > consequences described are inevitable. The design and culture of VistA was > to always be changing the "legacy" (after all, the minute a project is > finished and the product deployed, it becomes "legacy"). That kind of > change takes constant effort ... which means resources for things that don't > always appear on the surface to have any immediate benefit. Shut down that > culture and process and VistA ends up looking just like the problem Comair > had ... so it shouldn't really come as any surprise how new management now > feels about VistA ... the earlier decisions were self-fulfilling. > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph > Dal Molin > Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 2:54 PM > To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net > Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech > Upgrade > > Here is a timely article from CIO magazine on the risk and consquences > of neglecting a mission critical system while waiting for something > better.. > > http://www.cio.com/archive/050105/comair.html > > "Bound To Fail" > The crash of a critical legacy system at Comair is a classic risk > management mistake that cost the airline $20 million and badly damaged > its reputation. > > J. > > Cameron Schlehuber wrote: >> That VistA needs to continue to undergo change should be a given. Prior > to >> a dozen years ago applications and services were retooled every few years > or >> less. That was deemed to be too "costly" for things like lab, scheduling, >> etc. CPRS continued to be retooled to some extent (but "Order > Entry/Results >> Reporting" has been stuck on "version 3" since December 1997). Halt >> retooling for most parts and they'll certainly be "old". Is there new > stuff >> in VistA? Yes, but that doesn't change the things that are indeed old. >> Much retooling could be done to considerably reduce maintenance costs and > in >> fact test the Service Oriented Architecture (M supports it well in fact) > in >> a more gradual manner that would engender far less risk than turning our >> collective backs on VistA entirely. >> >> But "based on proprietary technology"? That's a howler. >> >> -Original Message- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph >> Dal Molin >> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 1:50 PM >> To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net >> Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech >> Upgrade >> >> "VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and >> based on proprietary technology, McFarland said.
RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
And the herd of sheep continues to march ever onward toward and over the edge of the cliff while a few "black sheep" continue to attempt, in vain, to get their attention to tell them that disaster lies ahead! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 11:40 AM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade Taken from the National VA News Summary. http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf TBO=Tampa Bay Online) TBO News, 5/4/05 VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade By RICHARD LARDNER TAMPA - The largest hurdle facing a major computer upgrade at veterans hospitals nationwide is convincing a skeptical Congress that government managers can handle the job, according to officials involved with the project. The congressional concern stems from a recent critical review of the Veterans Affairs Department effort, called HealtheVet, and the failure last year of a less ambitious technology upgrade at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg. ``We've had some failures,'' Robert McFarland, the VA's chief information officer, said Thursday. ``I would say that not only Congress but our stakeholders and some people inside the VA are very suspect of anything we start to do.'' When he took over as the VA's top technology official 14 months ago, the department lacked the management skills and oversight tools needed to handle a large modernization program, McFarland said. Those shortcomings were largely responsible for the troubles with the Core Financial and Logistics System. The VA was forced to terminate CoreFLS last year after it failed a ninemonth trial at Bay Pines. New procedures and staff have been brought in to address those problems, McFarland said. As a result, he is confident the technical challenges will be overcome. ``We got it,'' McFarland said of the need to reform the department's business practices. The VA has requested $311 million in the 2006 budget for HealtheVet. McFarland said he is not certain all the money will be provided until the VA's fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill is approved by Congress this year. The VA and McFarland got a vote of confidence last week from Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who called HealtheVet a work in progress. ``But it is a step in the right direction and should ultimately help veterans [have] better access to the VA health care system and, more importantly, help veterans have more control over their own health care,'' the senator said in a written statement. McFarland has the expertise ``to make this system work,'' Craig added. Old Versus New HealtheVet is expected to cost $2.2 billion through 2009, according to the VA. The project is aimed at replacing an existing patient record system known as VistA, which supports day-today operations at VA health care facilities. VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory. ``We've reached the point where we have to redesign this,'' he said. ``It'll be much less costly in the long run, and performance will be better.'' Daily News Summary (Cont.) Page 31 of 61 To avoid the pitfalls that doomed CoreFLS, McFarland asked a federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to conduct a thorough assessment of HealtheVet, which is early in the planning stages. The harsh findings were delivered to the VA in February and indicated HealtheVet would meet the same fate as CoreFLS without key changes. The project was ill-defined and technologically risky, and it lacked strong program management, according to the report. ``The VA cannot stay with VistA, however, current plans are not realistic given the complexity and magnitude of [HealtheVet] and the VA's ability to carry them out,'' according to the report, which the VA provided to The Tampa Tribune. Paradoxically, McFarland said the harsh results were welcomed by the VA because they exposed the risks before the project was too far along. ``The idea was to have holes shot in that project plan by people who really understand how you manage large-scale projects,'' he said. The department didn't do that with CoreFLS and paid a heavy political price. Changing Plan ``For once the VA did it right,'' said McFarland, who spent 33 years in the commercial computer industry before coming to the VA. ``There is not a large-scale program in the private sector or the government sector that initially doesn't have lots of holes in it when you put it together.'' The VA has made significant adjustments in its HealtheVet strategy over the past three months, he said. If the issues raised by Carnegie Mellon are not adequately addresse
RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
Cameron: How do you think the "New Management" reacts to the use of the Zachman principles (otherwise known as Eanterprise Architecture Planning) that Principi mandated before he left. How can such wilful ignorance of the broad picture endure if the "management" is to respond to the CMU-SEI criticisms? Reasonable mastery of EAP would understand the state of the Technical Infrastructure unless willful ignorance prevails as it did during the Gnomes of Darkness days 25 yrs ago. On Fri, 6 May 2005, Cameron Schlehuber wrote: That article certainly points to the risks of adding on applications to a legacy system. And if you never change the legacy system the kind of consequences described are inevitable. The design and culture of VistA was to always be changing the "legacy" (after all, the minute a project is finished and the product deployed, it becomes "legacy"). That kind of change takes constant effort ... which means resources for things that don't always appear on the surface to have any immediate benefit. Shut down that culture and process and VistA ends up looking just like the problem Comair had ... so it shouldn't really come as any surprise how new management now feels about VistA ... the earlier decisions were self-fulfilling. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 2:54 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade Here is a timely article from CIO magazine on the risk and consquences of neglecting a mission critical system while waiting for something better.. http://www.cio.com/archive/050105/comair.html "Bound To Fail" The crash of a critical legacy system at Comair is a classic risk management mistake that cost the airline $20 million and badly damaged its reputation. J. Cameron Schlehuber wrote: That VistA needs to continue to undergo change should be a given. Prior to a dozen years ago applications and services were retooled every few years or less. That was deemed to be too "costly" for things like lab, scheduling, etc. CPRS continued to be retooled to some extent (but "Order Entry/Results Reporting" has been stuck on "version 3" since December 1997). Halt retooling for most parts and they'll certainly be "old". Is there new stuff in VistA? Yes, but that doesn't change the things that are indeed old. Much retooling could be done to considerably reduce maintenance costs and in fact test the Service Oriented Architecture (M supports it well in fact) in a more gradual manner that would engender far less risk than turning our collective backs on VistA entirely. But "based on proprietary technology"? That's a howler. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 1:50 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade "VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory." This quote cannot be accurateit might be if it was Dubya that was being quotedthe inaccuracies are breathtaking. Perhaps I'm getting too old to maintain and my reasoning is starting to failand everything I have read about VistA for the last 10 years is wrong. J. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Taken from the National VA News Summary. http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf TBO=Tampa Bay Online) TBO News, 5/4/05 VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade By RICHARD LARDNER --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members . --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 oppo
RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
That article certainly points to the risks of adding on applications to a legacy system. And if you never change the legacy system the kind of consequences described are inevitable. The design and culture of VistA was to always be changing the "legacy" (after all, the minute a project is finished and the product deployed, it becomes "legacy"). That kind of change takes constant effort ... which means resources for things that don't always appear on the surface to have any immediate benefit. Shut down that culture and process and VistA ends up looking just like the problem Comair had ... so it shouldn't really come as any surprise how new management now feels about VistA ... the earlier decisions were self-fulfilling. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 2:54 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade Here is a timely article from CIO magazine on the risk and consquences of neglecting a mission critical system while waiting for something better.. http://www.cio.com/archive/050105/comair.html "Bound To Fail" The crash of a critical legacy system at Comair is a classic risk management mistake that cost the airline $20 million and badly damaged its reputation. J. Cameron Schlehuber wrote: > That VistA needs to continue to undergo change should be a given. Prior to > a dozen years ago applications and services were retooled every few years or > less. That was deemed to be too "costly" for things like lab, scheduling, > etc. CPRS continued to be retooled to some extent (but "Order Entry/Results > Reporting" has been stuck on "version 3" since December 1997). Halt > retooling for most parts and they'll certainly be "old". Is there new stuff > in VistA? Yes, but that doesn't change the things that are indeed old. > Much retooling could be done to considerably reduce maintenance costs and in > fact test the Service Oriented Architecture (M supports it well in fact) in > a more gradual manner that would engender far less risk than turning our > collective backs on VistA entirely. > > But "based on proprietary technology"? That's a howler. > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph > Dal Molin > Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 1:50 PM > To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net > Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech > Upgrade > > "VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and > based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, > will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to > interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory." > > This quote cannot be accurateit might be if it was Dubya that was > being quotedthe inaccuracies are breathtaking. Perhaps I'm getting > too old to maintain and my reasoning is starting to failand > everything I have read about VistA for the last 10 years is wrong. > > J. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >>Taken from the National VA News Summary. >>http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf >>TBO=Tampa Bay Online) >> >>TBO News, 5/4/05 >>VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade >>By RICHARD LARDNER > > > > > > --- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. > Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 > opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to > win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r > ___ > Hardhats-members mailing list > Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > . > --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
Here is a timely article from CIO magazine on the risk and consquences of neglecting a mission critical system while waiting for something better.. http://www.cio.com/archive/050105/comair.html "Bound To Fail" The crash of a critical legacy system at Comair is a classic risk management mistake that cost the airline $20 million and badly damaged its reputation. J. Cameron Schlehuber wrote: That VistA needs to continue to undergo change should be a given. Prior to a dozen years ago applications and services were retooled every few years or less. That was deemed to be too "costly" for things like lab, scheduling, etc. CPRS continued to be retooled to some extent (but "Order Entry/Results Reporting" has been stuck on "version 3" since December 1997). Halt retooling for most parts and they'll certainly be "old". Is there new stuff in VistA? Yes, but that doesn't change the things that are indeed old. Much retooling could be done to considerably reduce maintenance costs and in fact test the Service Oriented Architecture (M supports it well in fact) in a more gradual manner that would engender far less risk than turning our collective backs on VistA entirely. But "based on proprietary technology"? That's a howler. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 1:50 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade "VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory." This quote cannot be accurateit might be if it was Dubya that was being quotedthe inaccuracies are breathtaking. Perhaps I'm getting too old to maintain and my reasoning is starting to failand everything I have read about VistA for the last 10 years is wrong. J. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Taken from the National VA News Summary. http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf TBO=Tampa Bay Online) TBO News, 5/4/05 VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade By RICHARD LARDNER --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members . --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
RE: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
That VistA needs to continue to undergo change should be a given. Prior to a dozen years ago applications and services were retooled every few years or less. That was deemed to be too "costly" for things like lab, scheduling, etc. CPRS continued to be retooled to some extent (but "Order Entry/Results Reporting" has been stuck on "version 3" since December 1997). Halt retooling for most parts and they'll certainly be "old". Is there new stuff in VistA? Yes, but that doesn't change the things that are indeed old. Much retooling could be done to considerably reduce maintenance costs and in fact test the Service Oriented Architecture (M supports it well in fact) in a more gradual manner that would engender far less risk than turning our collective backs on VistA entirely. But "based on proprietary technology"? That's a howler. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joseph Dal Molin Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 1:50 PM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade "VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory." This quote cannot be accurateit might be if it was Dubya that was being quotedthe inaccuracies are breathtaking. Perhaps I'm getting too old to maintain and my reasoning is starting to failand everything I have read about VistA for the last 10 years is wrong. J. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Taken from the National VA News Summary. > http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf > TBO=Tampa Bay Online) > > TBO News, 5/4/05 > VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade > By RICHARD LARDNER --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
[Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
Taken from the National VA News Summary. http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf TBO=Tampa Bay Online) TBO News, 5/4/05 VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade By RICHARD LARDNER TAMPA - The largest hurdle facing a major computer upgrade at veterans hospitals nationwide is convincing a skeptical Congress that government managers can handle the job, according to officials involved with the project. The congressional concern stems from a recent critical review of the Veterans Affairs Department effort, called HealtheVet, and the failure last year of a less ambitious technology upgrade at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg. ``We've had some failures,'' Robert McFarland, the VA's chief information officer, said Thursday. ``I would say that not only Congress but our stakeholders and some people inside the VA are very suspect of anything we start to do.'' When he took over as the VA's top technology official 14 months ago, the department lacked the management skills and oversight tools needed to handle a large modernization program, McFarland said. Those shortcomings were largely responsible for the troubles with the Core Financial and Logistics System. The VA was forced to terminate CoreFLS last year after it failed a ninemonth trial at Bay Pines. New procedures and staff have been brought in to address those problems, McFarland said. As a result, he is confident the technical challenges will be overcome. ``We got it,'' McFarland said of the need to reform the department's business practices. The VA has requested $311 million in the 2006 budget for HealtheVet. McFarland said he is not certain all the money will be provided until the VA's fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill is approved by Congress this year. The VA and McFarland got a vote of confidence last week from Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who called HealtheVet a work in progress. ``But it is a step in the right direction and should ultimately help veterans [have] better access to the VA health care system and, more importantly, help veterans have more control over their own health care,'' the senator said in a written statement. McFarland has the expertise ``to make this system work,'' Craig added. Old Versus New HealtheVet is expected to cost $2.2 billion through 2009, according to the VA. The project is aimed at replacing an existing patient record system known as VistA, which supports day-today operations at VA health care facilities. VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory. ``We've reached the point where we have to redesign this,'' he said. ``It'll be much less costly in the long run, and performance will be better.'' Daily News Summary (Cont.) Page 31 of 61 To avoid the pitfalls that doomed CoreFLS, McFarland asked a federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to conduct a thorough assessment of HealtheVet, which is early in the planning stages. The harsh findings were delivered to the VA in February and indicated HealtheVet would meet the same fate as CoreFLS without key changes. The project was ill-defined and technologically risky, and it lacked strong program management, according to the report. ``The VA cannot stay with VistA, however, current plans are not realistic given the complexity and magnitude of [HealtheVet] and the VA's ability to carry them out,'' according to the report, which the VA provided to The Tampa Tribune. Paradoxically, McFarland said the harsh results were welcomed by the VA because they exposed the risks before the project was too far along. ``The idea was to have holes shot in that project plan by people who really understand how you manage large-scale projects,'' he said. The department didn't do that with CoreFLS and paid a heavy political price. Changing Plan ``For once the VA did it right,'' said McFarland, who spent 33 years in the commercial computer industry before coming to the VA. ``There is not a large-scale program in the private sector or the government sector that initially doesn't have lots of holes in it when you put it together.'' The VA has made significant adjustments in its HealtheVet strategy over the past three months, he said. If the issues raised by Carnegie Mellon are not adequately addressed, the VA won't move forward with the project, he said. However, McFarland doesn't see that happening. ``I think we have a handle on what we have to do,'' he said. Despite Sen. Craig's support, there is less confidence in the House of Representatives. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Indiana, who is chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, has recommended withholding the $311 million for HealtheVet until questions about the proposed system are answered. The CoreFLS failure
Re: [Hardhats-members] VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade
"VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory." This quote cannot be accurateit might be if it was Dubya that was being quotedthe inaccuracies are breathtaking. Perhaps I'm getting too old to maintain and my reasoning is starting to failand everything I have read about VistA for the last 10 years is wrong. J. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Taken from the National VA News Summary. http://vaww.newslink.va.gov/summary/2005/05-05-05.pdf TBO=Tampa Bay Online) TBO News, 5/4/05 VA Aims To Build Congress' Faith In Tech Upgrade By RICHARD LARDNER TAMPA - The largest hurdle facing a major computer upgrade at veterans hospitals nationwide is convincing a skeptical Congress that government managers can handle the job, according to officials involved with the project. The congressional concern stems from a recent critical review of the Veterans Affairs Department effort, called HealtheVet, and the failure last year of a less ambitious technology upgrade at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg. ``We've had some failures,'' Robert McFarland, the VA's chief information officer, said Thursday. ``I would say that not only Congress but our stakeholders and some people inside the VA are very suspect of anything we start to do.'' When he took over as the VA's top technology official 14 months ago, the department lacked the management skills and oversight tools needed to handle a large modernization program, McFarland said. Those shortcomings were largely responsible for the troubles with the Core Financial and Logistics System. The VA was forced to terminate CoreFLS last year after it failed a ninemonth trial at Bay Pines. New procedures and staff have been brought in to address those problems, McFarland said. As a result, he is confident the technical challenges will be overcome. ``We got it,'' McFarland said of the need to reform the department's business practices. The VA has requested $311 million in the 2006 budget for HealtheVet. McFarland said he is not certain all the money will be provided until the VA's fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill is approved by Congress this year. The VA and McFarland got a vote of confidence last week from Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who called HealtheVet a work in progress. ``But it is a step in the right direction and should ultimately help veterans [have] better access to the VA health care system and, more importantly, help veterans have more control over their own health care,'' the senator said in a written statement. McFarland has the expertise ``to make this system work,'' Craig added. Old Versus New HealtheVet is expected to cost $2.2 billion through 2009, according to the VA. The project is aimed at replacing an existing patient record system known as VistA, which supports day-today operations at VA health care facilities. VistA is a solid system, but it's old, too expensive to maintain and based on proprietary technology, McFarland said. HealtheVet, he said, will be built on commercially available systems and therefore be able to interact with other platforms in the VA's inventory. ``We've reached the point where we have to redesign this,'' he said. ``It'll be much less costly in the long run, and performance will be better.'' Daily News Summary (Cont.) Page 31 of 61 To avoid the pitfalls that doomed CoreFLS, McFarland asked a federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to conduct a thorough assessment of HealtheVet, which is early in the planning stages. The harsh findings were delivered to the VA in February and indicated HealtheVet would meet the same fate as CoreFLS without key changes. The project was ill-defined and technologically risky, and it lacked strong program management, according to the report. ``The VA cannot stay with VistA, however, current plans are not realistic given the complexity and magnitude of [HealtheVet] and the VA's ability to carry them out,'' according to the report, which the VA provided to The Tampa Tribune. Paradoxically, McFarland said the harsh results were welcomed by the VA because they exposed the risks before the project was too far along. ``The idea was to have holes shot in that project plan by people who really understand how you manage large-scale projects,'' he said. The department didn't do that with CoreFLS and paid a heavy political price. Changing Plan ``For once the VA did it right,'' said McFarland, who spent 33 years in the commercial computer industry before coming to the VA. ``There is not a large-scale program in the private sector or the government sector that initially doesn't have lots of holes in it when you put it together.'' The VA has made significant adjustments in its HealtheVet strateg
[Hardhats-members] Open-Source VistA to emerge in 2005
This just in from Dan Johnson, MD: 'Open-Source VistA to emerge in 2005 First, this is not an "announcement," in the sense of Grand Hoopla. It is news that a door is creaking open: The Wisconsin QIO (Quality Improvement Organization; formerly known as a PRO - Professional Review Organization), MetaStar (formerly known as WIPRO), has internally committed to sponsoring a proper open-source distribution of VistA Office, the physician-office-ready version of VistA that is being prepared for August 1st release by CMS (the agency formerly known as HCFA). What does this mean?...' Read more at: http://www.linuxmednews.com/1115390347/index_html There is a lot more meat to this at the link above. -- IV --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
RE: [Hardhats-members] VistA Community Conference Call
I am told this is an old confirmation #.. The operator has "World VistA weekly conference call" I am now on hold with good music;-) Tom -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Maury Pepper Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 12:50 AM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [Hardhats-members] VistA Community Conference Call VistA Community Call Friday at NOON EDT. TOPICS: - What's coming in OpenVistA 4.0 - Open discussion on any relevant topic DATE: Friday, May 5 TIME: 12:00 Noon EDT DURATION: 1 hour. CONFERENCE CALL DIAL IN NUMBERS USA 866-483-4159 Outside USA 706-634-0093 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS Dial in and identify yourself (first and last name) Provide the Conference ID Number: 5361278 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Thanks to Hewlett-Packard and Sharon Mobley for providing the teleconferencing facilities. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.11.5 - Release Date: 5/4/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.11.5 - Release Date: 5/4/2005 --- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games. Get your fingers limbered up and give it your best shot. 4 great events, 4 opportunities to win big! Highest score wins.NEC IT Guy Games. Play to win an NEC 61 plasma display. Visit http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20 ___ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
