Part IX) Install VistaOffice EHR on Ubuntu Linux
Ok, this is really what this site is all about.
VistA is the program/framework to keep records using the MUMPS (or M for short) database system created at MIT in the 60s.
MUMPS was originally written on a Unix system and has been adapted over the years to be used on Linux as well as Unix. There are several versions of MUMPS now that are open source. GT.M is the open source version of MUMPS for Linux (and which is being distributed with Vista Office EHR currently). Cache, which can be used on Windows, is proprietary.
Now, server applications such as Apache are not confined to Linux. Apache runs on Windows as well.
A "Toaster" is a pre-packaged, stripped down version of server software that runs like an Apache server but with far less options. The VistA Toaster is packaged with versions of GT.M and VistA in a self-contained "mini-server" that does not require the usual LAMP components to run. It can be made to run on a Windows machine.
But one reason for VistA's wide appeal is that it is public domain and provided as an inexpensive (actually, free) service by the VA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). (This act requires certain US government-generated documents (including software) to be made freely available to the US public.)
Now, it doesn't make much sense to save money on an EHR just to hand it over to Microsoft. Why run a native Linux application on an expensive Windows box? Linux is a superior overall operating system and is available for only a fraction of the price of a Windows (or Mac) system. Unlike the past, also, commercial support for Linux operating systems like Ubuntu is now abundantly available when needed.
For these reasons, this section will be devoted to implementing VistaOfficeEHR on the Ubuntu Linux system whose set-up was described on the previous pages.
Committing to any EHR, including VistA, is not a small committment. Fortunately, it does not have to be an expensive committment, if you choose your components carefully. Open source Linux can be upgraded free, and the VA's 178 hospitals and approximately 1200 clinics are helping to keep the VistA software evolving as well. Improvements show up in the freely provided VistA updates. Lastly, commercial support is also now widely available for VistA installation and ongoing support as well.
In fact, most physicians who choose to use open source VistA will choose to have their software installed and updated by such a commercial support service, just to shorten the time it takes to become fully functional, and to provide training to office staff.
The option of being able to get in and tinker with the parts, however, appeals to many physicians, and to physicians with an extensive local computer expertise already available to them. This option is not available with proprietary software.
No other electronic health record has been used by more medical professionals in the US than VistA, and the expertise with this outstanding program will become more universal as time goes on. So let's get going.
1) Download VistaOfficeEHR
First, go to
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=60087
and look at the different versions of VistA avaalable. We will talk about them later. For now, we want the bost integrated package.
Click on the Vista Office EHR SemiViva package the click on
VistAOfficeEHRSemiVivA_2.3.1.tgz
to download it to a folder on your computer.
Now go to
http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=60087&release_id=488270
for installation instructions.
Be aware that the folks who have made Vista Office EHR available to the rest of us are the geekiest Linux aficionados around (and I mean that as the highest compliment).
My job is to actually get the program to work on your computer. (Vendors will install a fully functioning system for you, as well.)
So here goes.
(To be continued. Ongoing and updated versions of this page will soon be available at the Perspective Office web site (perspectiveoffice.dyndns.org). Vendors supporting VistA are also listed there.)
| Home page
| Introduction
| Chapter I: Installing Windows on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter II: Installing Ubuntu Linux Server on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter III: Adding the Ubuntu Desktop on a dual-boot computer
| Chapter IV: Spiffing up Ubuntu Linux
| Chapter V: Ubuntu/Windows shared networks
| Chapter VI: Setting up a Web Site on Ubuntu
| Chapter VII: Ubuntu/Apache Virtual Hosts (Multiple web sites, single server)
| Chapter VIII: Installing Drupal Content Managment System
| Chapter IX: Installing Vista Office EHR
| Chapter X: Installing an Office Surveillance Security System with Ubuntu
| Chapter XI: Installing an open source Groupware Server
| Chapter XII: Installing a non-linear video editor for presentations
|