VA hospitals CPRS

[Gerota]

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for all of you with VA's, i heard it was possible to set up the CPRS system online, so you can log in and check on all your patients online from the comfort of your home. anyone know anything about this?

 

[MTGas2B]

for all of you with VA's, i heard it was possible to set up the CPRS system online, so you can log in and check on all your patients online from the comfort of your home. anyone know anything about this?

I think it depends on your VISN. VISNs are the regions of the US that the VA is divided into. Here in Seattle, we're in VISN 20, and I know the address for our CPRS from home access. It's handy, leave early, finish my notes from home.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hmmm...that would have been terribly handy. We take home call and often had to trek back in (30-45 minute drive) to write orders for a late night transfer from another VA (that no one told us about), or an admission. The nurses refused to take any orders for these patients over the phone and I was refused access to a VA outpatient clinic 5 minutes from my house for this purpose.

I'd like to find out if this is available here for our residents going out there now...while they would still have to go in to see new patients, for the odd transfer or other patient that doesn't need to be seen until the am, this could come in very handy.

 

[f_w]

...and the VA's would finally catch up to the real world were phone and fax orders are the rule, not the exception (which are signed the next day when the admitting physician comes through for his rounds).

 

[AJM]

In VISN 21 (northern CA/Nevada/Hawaii), it's also really easy to set up home access. It's an absolutely wonderful thing. The nurses at my VA weren't allowed to take verbal orders, so I would be able to pop onto my home computer to write some diet orders or some such orders that I forgot to do earlier without having to page the in-house resident to do it for me. My clinic was also in the VA, so it was really nice to be able to write my clinic notes from home.

There is a little bit of red tape you have to go through because of HIPAA. I had to go to the personnel office so that they could make sure I was who I said I was before they would activate my home access. Then I had to run some program on my computer that made sure I had an adequate firewall and virus protection so that no one could spy on my computer while I was using CPRS. But once I got through that, it was really easy to use.

 

[surg]

You have to set up a VPN and install Citrix Metaframe software, but the software is very straightforward to install. The VA will give you a CD to install. It took about 3 weeks to get approved by my IT department, and the connection is a little slow compared to being on site even over my cable modem, but being able to access Stentor images and CPRS from home is great, especially when you don't have in-house call.