Press Release 20100823-04
Aug. 23, 2010

BAGHDAD –Representatives from the Iraqi Ministries of Defense and Health and the Kurdistan Ministry of Health signed a memorandum of agreement earlier this month that will facilitate the implementation of an integrated, comprehensive health information system.

The program, WorldVistA, is based on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care management system and is expected to be in place in October.

WorldVistA is currently being implemented in the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jordan.

Doctors, administrators and information technology specialists from all three ministries will be training together on the new system at Al Muthana Hospital in Baghdad.

The program will provide the government and medical administrator visibility of services and care provided to the Iraqi people nationwide.  This will help regulate and standardize medical practices, as well as improve the quality of care for Iraqi patients by providing doctors with current and accurate patient medical histories.

“WorldVistA will greatly enhance the Iraqis’ capability to communicate with each other, which in turn will provide quality health care to the people of Iraq,” said U.S. Army Col. Andrew Kosmowski, the senior medical advisor to the MoD Surgeon General’s Office.  

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