Real support for vets: Veterans Affairs Health Information Technology Initiative winners

Okay, the deal is that in any large organization, it's the rank and file, the front line workers, who know what's going on and how to do better.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has just announced the winners of the second innovation initiative, the focus being on real, common sense ways to better support vets. Here's a very partial list, and I'll later try to focus later on a few that make a lot of sense to me.

· Reducing health care associated infections using informatics

· CPRS-based automated queries & reports

· Robust VA forms search engine

· Augment CPRS with standards-based decision support engine

· Enhanced care management to facilitate case management and chronic disease care

· Integration of behavioral health lab & CPRS for mental health primary care

· Edischarge pilot program

· Show patient picture in CPRS

· CPRS enhancement for veteran-centered care

· "Parking" outpatient prescriptions to prevent waste

· Suicide hotline: be a hero, save a hero

· Touch screen device support for nursing triage of patients

Yes, I helped evaluate the suggestions but my contribution was minor, primarily to bring nerdly glamor to the proceedings.