For descriptions of the software packages that together form the VistA
system see the Vista
Monograph. The monograph, which is updated annually, provides an
overview and a list of the features of each VistA application.
Documentation for current VistA applications , written for the benefit
of users (i.e., clinicians and systems managers) is available online
at the VistA Documentation Library.
VistA uses standard coding for much of its data, including ICD-9,
CPT, DSM-III, LOINC, and other universal and standards-based coding
methodologies. For information regarding code sets commonly used by
VistA, consult the VA MetaData Registry on the VA Intranet.
The first guide for research users of electronic VHA databases, the Department
of Veterans Affairs Databases Resources Guide,
was a five-volume set produced by Martha Beattie, Ph.D., Ralph W.
Swindle, Ph.D., Lynn A. Tomko, B.A. and other authors.
Screen-by-screen instructions for using the Care Management query
tool are available online in the CPRS
QUERY USER MANUAL .
A detailed historical overview of VistA is "VistA-U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs national-scale HIS" by S.H. Brown, M.J. Lincoln,
P.J. Groen, and R.M. Kolodner, Int J Med Inf. 2003 Mar;69(2-3):135-56
(
PMID 12810119 ).
describes the strengths
and some very important limitations to the use of VistA data for
research. 