Composite Health Care System

Last updated

The Composite Health Care System (CHCS) is a medical informatics system designed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and used by all United States and OCONUS military health care centers. In 1988, SAIC won a competition for the original $1.02 billion contract to design, develop, and implement CHCS. [1]

Contents

Components and characteristics

CHCS is module based: modules include RAD (radiology), LAB (Laboratory), PHR (Pharmacy), PAS (Patient Appointing & Scheduling), MCP (Managed Care Program; used to support TRICARE enrollees by enrolling them to Primary Care Managers), PAD (Patient Administration): MRT (Medical Records Tracking), MSA (Medical Service Accounting) medical billing, WAM (Workload Assignment Module), DTS (Dietetics), CLN (CLinical: Nursing, Physician, and Allied Health), DAA (Database Administration), ADM (Ambulatory Data Module) Medical Coding of outpatient visits, and TOOLS (FileMan).

Currently all appointments are booked in CHCS, except for Walk-Ins and Telephone Consults, which can now be booked in AHLTA. CHCS is a text based BBS/ANSI like display accessed via DEC VT320 terminal emulation. CHCS supports outpatient Order Entry (LAB, RAD, PHR, Consults (ancillary procedures), one-time and scheduled/multiple appointment consults. CHCS can also support Inpatient charting and Order Entry with multi-paging with a page for each ward the patient is transferred, but this feature is not fielded/enabled at many medical centers. Instead Clinicomp's Essentris product is deployed at all MHS hospitals and has replaced the use of CHCS Inpatient module for nurse charting. An interface solution to allow Essentris Orders to be transferred into CHCS order entry is being deployed.

AHLTA

Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (commonly referred to as AHLTA) is the clinical documentation engine for the Physicians to write their notes, put in orders, document procedures performed and provide the basis of medical coding information. This information is then sent into CHCS and its subsystems (ADM - ambulatory data module) provide the official repository of the medical coding information and handle the transmission of those encounters via the Comprehensive Ambulatory Patient Encounter Record (CAPER) interface. The clinical data is brought into the M2 DataMart for use in research, operational metrics, trend analysis, and many other business intelligence processes/products. AHLTA information is also contained in a Central Data Repository (CDR). This CDR contains information from AHLTA, CHCS, and AHLTA-Theater. The AHLTA CDR is a comprehensive full scale world-wide EHR repository.

CHCS shares its original codebase with the VA's VistA system. Since its inception it has been customized for supporting the Military and their family members.

Security in CHCS works by a number of mechanisms and includes the concept of least privilege. You are assigned the minimum needed for your work duties. This limits your access to sensitive data both protected by the Privacy Act 1974 and PHI protected under HIPAA.

AdHoc reports can be written using the FileMan tools and can be quite powerful if the files are designed with that in mind. Many CHCS files are now more easily accessed with MUMPS routines that can make more efficient use of the internal data structures. More information about FileMan can be found at www.hardhats.org. CHCS, which now runs on InterSystems Caché with the MUMPS globals being converted into Caché objects and the MUMPS routines accessing them, now can be accessed with .NET tools to query the Caché database. Many facilities have developed special queries of CHCS or new tools to facilitate workflow and processes. One such tool is an intranet web application to facilitate printing of lab specimen labels to special printers with formats not possible with the regular CHCS print devices and label printing methods.

CITPO (now known as Defense Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS)) began the implementation of AHLTA, the DoD's Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, in January 2004. The system links the 481 Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) worldwide as well as service members deployed abroad to the EHR, ultimately supporting 9.2 million MHS beneficiaries. The introduction of AHLTA, previously known as the Composite Health Care System II, ushered in a significant new era in health care for the MHS and the nation. AHLTA Version 3.3.3.X with client update 9.1 currently fielded to physician and clinic staff workstations. DHIMS also manages the AHLTA-Theater program that provides EHR capabilities to deployed users with important store and forward capabilities when communications are unavailable.

AHLTA and a significant portion of CHCS are slated to be replaced by a VA/DoD interagency iEHR program. The iEHR will bring together the strong Health IT resources of both the VA and the DoD to acquire the next generation EHR capabilities for both departments.

Record Duplication

As with all large hospital information systems, there are occasions that despite training and best intentions, duplicate patient records are created. CHCS has a function to merge patients, but not to unmerge. AHLTA also has merges performed on patients in its Oracle database and successful attempts are made to un-merge patients and their associated medical/encounter data where diligent research has determined that mistakes were made with the identification of patients and to split off encounter records from patients that are blended into the single AHLTA record. Master Patient Indexing is a feature of the AHLTA Clinical Data Repository (CDR). Over 100 CHCS host systems, DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System), and AHLTA Theater (the version being used in Iraq and other areas) all contributed patients into the CDR when it was created from 25 month data pulls back in 2004. Each CHCS patient registration links into AHLTA, some link to existing patients, but others are newly created. Complexity with patient names and methods of identifying them with other demographics can lead to duplication, both in a local CHCS system and in the central AHLTA CDR. There is currently a DHIMS contract working on improving the processes and automating the routines to resolve duplicate patients and prevent their creation in future.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health informatics</span> Computational approaches to health care

Health informatics is the study and implementation of computer structures and algorithms to improve communication, understanding, and management of medical information. It can be view as branch of engineering and applied science.

Medical Information Technology, Inc., shortened to Meditech, is a privately held Massachusetts-based software and service company that develops and sells information systems for health care organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic health record</span> Digital collection of patient and population electronically stored health information

An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of patient and population electronically stored health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared through network-connected, enterprise-wide information systems or other information networks and exchanges. EHRs may include a range of data, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics like age and weight, and billing information.

A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is a health information technology that provides clinicians, staff, patients, and other individuals with knowledge and person-specific information to help health and health care. CDSS encompasses a variety of tools to enhance decision-making in the clinical workflow. These tools include computerized alerts and reminders to care providers and patients, clinical guidelines, condition-specific order sets, focused patient data reports and summaries, documentation templates, diagnostic support, and contextually relevant reference information, among other tools. CDSSs constitute a major topic in artificial intelligence in medicine.

A personal health record (PHR) is a health record where health data and other information related to the care of a patient is maintained by the patient. This stands in contrast to the more widely used electronic medical record, which is operated by institutions and contains data entered by clinicians to support insurance claims. The intention of a PHR is to provide a complete and accurate summary of an individual's medical history which is accessible online. The health data on a PHR might include patient-reported outcome data, lab results, and data from devices such as wireless electronic weighing scales or from a smartphone.

Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) is a deployable health support information management system of the U.S. Army.

Medcin, is a system of standardized medical terminology, a proprietary medical vocabulary and was developed by Medicomp Systems, Inc. MEDCIN is a point-of-care terminology, intended for use in Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, and it includes over 280,000 clinical data elements encompassing symptoms, history, physical examination, tests, diagnoses and therapy. This clinical vocabulary contains over 38 years of research and development as well as the capability to cross map to leading codification systems such as SNOMED CT, CPT, ICD-9-CM/ICD-10-CM, DSM, LOINC, CDT, CVX, and the Clinical Care Classification (CCC) System for nursing and allied health.

BHIE is a series of communications protocols developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It is used to exchange healthcare information between VA healthcare facilities nationwide and between VA facilities and Department of Defense healthcare facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Databank</span>

First Databank (FDB) is a major provider of drug and medical device databases that help inform healthcare professionals to make decisions. FDB partners with information system developers to deliver useful medication- and medical device-related information to clinicians, business associates, and patients. FDB is part of Hearst and the Hearst Health network.

Patient portals are healthcare-related online applications that allow patients to interact and communicate with their healthcare providers, such as physicians and hospitals. Typically, portal services are available on the Internet at all hours of the day and night. Some patient portal applications exist as stand-alone web sites and sell their services to healthcare providers. Other portal applications are integrated into the existing web site of a healthcare provider. Still others are modules added onto an existing electronic medical record (EMR) system. What all of these services share is the ability of patients to interact with their medical information via the Internet. Currently, the lines between an EMR, a personal health record, and a patient portal are blurring. For example, Intuit Health and Microsoft HealthVault describe themselves as personal health records (PHRs), but they can interface with EMRs and communicate through the Continuity of Care Record standard, displaying patient data on the Internet so it can be viewed through a patient portal.

VistAWeb is a portal accessible through CPRS, the graphical user interface for the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), the electronic health record used throughout the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical system.

Health information technology (HIT) is health technology, particularly information technology, applied to health and health care. It supports health information management across computerized systems and the secure exchange of health information between consumers, providers, payers, and quality monitors. Based on a 2008 report on a small series of studies conducted at four sites that provide ambulatory care – three U.S. medical centers and one in the Netherlands, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) was viewed as the most promising tool for improving the overall quality, safety and efficiency of the health delivery system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VistA</span> Health information system

The Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) is the system of record for the clinical, administrative and financial operations of the Veterans Health Administration VISTA consists of over 180 clinical, financial, and administrative applications integrated within a single shared lifelong database (figure 1).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Practice Fusion</span> Electronic health record company

Practice Fusion is a web-based electronic health record (EHR) company based in San Francisco, CA. The company was founded in 2005 by Ryan Howard and acquired by Allscripts in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project</span>

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project is a family of healthcare databases and related software tools and products from the United States that is developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

InterSystems Corporation is a privately held vendor of software systems and technology for high-performance database management, rapid application development, integration, and healthcare information systems. The vendor's products include InterSystems IRIS Data Platform, Caché Database Management System, the InterSystems Ensemble integration platform, the HealthShare healthcare informatics platform and TrakCare healthcare information system, which is sold outside the United States.

AHLTA is a global Electronic Health Record (EHR) system used by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It was implemented at Army, Navy and Air Force Military Treatment Facilities (MTF) around the world between January 2003 and January 2006. It is a services-wide medical and dental information management system. What made AHLTA unique was its implementation date, its Central Data Repository, its use in operational medicine and its global implementation. There is nothing like it in the private sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical image sharing</span> Electronic exchange of medical images

Medical image sharing is the electronic exchange of medical images between hospitals, physicians and patients. Rather than using traditional media, such as a CD or DVD, and either shipping it out or having patients carry it with them, technology now allows for the sharing of these images using the cloud. The primary format for images is DICOM. Typically, non-image data such as reports may be attached in standard formats like PDF during the sending process. Additionally, there are standards in the industry, such as IHE Cross Enterprise Document Sharing for Imaging (XDS-I), for managing the sharing of documents between healthcare enterprises. A typical architecture involved in setup is a locally installed server, which sits behind the firewall, allowing secure transmissions with outside facilities. In 2009, the Radiological Society of North America launched the "Image Share" project, with the goal of giving patients control of their imaging histories by allowing them to manage these records as they would online banking or shopping.

Health data is any data "related to health conditions, reproductive outcomes, causes of death, and quality of life" for an individual or population. Health data includes clinical metrics along with environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral information pertinent to health and wellness. A plurality of health data are collected and used when individuals interact with health care systems. This data, collected by health care providers, typically includes a record of services received, conditions of those services, and clinical outcomes or information concerning those services. Historically, most health data has been sourced from this framework. The advent of eHealth and advances in health information technology, however, have expanded the collection and use of health data—but have also engendered new security, privacy, and ethical concerns. The increasing collection and use of health data by patients is a major component of digital health.

Federal and state governments, insurance companies and other large medical institutions are heavily promoting the adoption of electronic health records. The US Congress included a formula of both incentives and penalties for EMR/EHR adoption versus continued use of paper records as part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

References

  1. Dr. J. Robert Beyster with Peter Economy, The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company, John Wiley & Sons (2007) p.88