VistA Imaging (VI)

Customer Support

Veterans Affairs Support Center provides assistance for issues related to the VistA Imaging program, such as setup and problem solving.

You can call
(888) 596- 4357
or email vasd@va.gov.

HP Expertise Center provides dedicated VistA Imaging infrastructure support M-F 9am-6pm EST. The center will provide assistance to triage, troubleshoot, resolve & provide guidance related to the hardware, specifically the VI hardware, Archive Appliance & HP workstations.

(877) 896- 2158
M-F 9:00am - 6:00pm EST

VistA Imaging provides the multi-media component for the RPMS EHR. The VistA Imaging system integrates clinical images, scanned documents, and other non-textual data into the patient's electronic medical record. Captured images are combined with text data to facilitate a clinician's task of correlating information and making timely and accurate patient care decisions.

VistA Imaging can capture and manage many different kinds of images including:

Scanned clinical and administrative documents
Radiology and nuclear medicine images
EKG waveforms

The VistA Imaging System's primary functions are:

VI Display of digital photograph - click to view

Click to View Larger Image

Clinical Image Display

At VistA Imaging sites, workstations are generally located in clinic exam rooms, Wards, and clinician's private offices. Clinicians often review images, such as signed consent forms, advance directives, and digital photographs when placing orders or writing progress notes using the RPMS EHR.

Image Capture

Images may be captured in several ways:

Using an image capture workstation with an input device such as a video camera, still digital camera, scanner, or a source of image files on its hard drive
Using an automated interface such as a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard gateway

Filmless Radiology

The VistARad diagnostic workstation allows radiologists to interpret radiology exams without printing film, providing a number of important features including:

Customizable hanging protocols for optimized presentation of current and prior exams
A "ReadList" function for automating reading session workflow
Integration with voice dictation systems
Radiology department workflow management to eliminate double-reads

Image Management

The VistA Imaging System includes a "core infrastructure" consisting of the following hardware components. These components provide short- and long-term storage and management of all images associated with a patient's medical record.

Network servers, including magnetic and optical disk jukeboxes, for storage of images
Network infrastructure including switches and cabling for communication of images
DICOM gateway systems to communicate with commercial Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and modalities such as CT, MR, and Computed Radiography (x-ray) devices for image capture
A background processor that is responsible for moving the images to the proper storage device and for managing storage space