DR. KENNETH KIZER WANTS TO MAKE MEDICAL HISTORY AGAIN

Most veterans don't know the name...Dr. Kenneth Kizer...but we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Dr. Kizer was tapped by President Bill Clinton to "save" the VA...and he did just that...taking the VA from "hospitals of last resort" to a model of medical excellence.

Now, Dr. Kizer has new plans...Story here... http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/13254906.htm

Quote of note:  Kizer just announced that he would be leaving the National Quality Forum next month to take over Medsphere Systems Corp. of Aliso Viejo, a small health information-technology company whose goal is to cut the price of electronic patient recordkeeping by using the free, publicly available open-source system that the VA devised.

The key words here are "open-source"...referring to the VA's VistA and CPRS record-keeping systems. 

What's interesting is that Dr. Kizer sees the wisdom of open-source software as the VA is moving toward proprietary software with the help of CIO Robert McFarland and the new powers given to him by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.  More info on this... http://www.vawatchdog.org/milcom/ciopowergrabatva-rev2.htm

Here is more info on Dr. Kizer and the radical and wonderful changes he brought to the VA... http://vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes/newsflash10-24-2005.htm    and here...   http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0501.longman.html

Larry Scott

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