Introduction to Capri

Introduction CAPRI Definition
The Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) project is an information technology initiative to improve service to disabled veterans by promoting efficient communication between the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Online access to medical data enhances the timeliness of the benefits determination. Previous attempts to automate this process were hindered by the "roll and scroll" nature of the VHA computer interface of the Automated Medical Information Exchange (AMIE) II. The CAPRI software acts as a bridge between the VBA and VHA information systems. It offers VBA Rating Veteran Service Representatives and Decision Review Officers help in building the rating decision documentation through online access to medical data. It also offers VHA Compensation and Pension (C&P) staff an easy, standardized way of recording C&P Examination reports.

CAPRI provides VBA employees with a standardized, user-friendly method to rapidly access veterans' electronic medical records throughout the Veterans Administration (VA). CAPRI delivers leading edge "point and click" technology to the users' desktops. In addition, the learning curve for CAPRI is significantly less than that for character-based systems. CAPRI builds upon existing VHA information security approaches. In addition to using established mechanisms to ensure only authorized access to medical data, CAPRI adds a level of security by allowing VBA users to read but not alter electronic medical record information. CAPRI also provides innovative improvements for medical centers by integrating highly detailed Compensation and Pension Rating examination results into the veterans' medical records. Previously, these reports were not retained online in medical center computer systems but were archived onto paper. This procedure precluded the sharing of clinically useful data.

Initially developed specifically for VBA, the utility of CAPRI has been expanded to other user groups that include VHA, Office of the Medical Inspector, Office of Information (OI), Research, and Veteran Service Officers. Recently, most of the newest features of CAPRI are specifically targeted at adding features to be used by VHA C&P providers and staff.

CAPRI Application Features

 * User friendliness
 * Point and click environment
 * No commands or prompts to memorize
 * Facilitation of copy and paste functionality
 * Consistent appearance and functionality among sites

Demographics

 * Load new patients into the Veterans Information Systems Technology Architecture (VistA) system
 * View patient demographics
 * Report patient address changes to VHA
 * View patient temporary address

C&P Examination Functionality

 * Add new C&P exam request
 * Edit unreleased C&P exam request
 * Add exams to C&P exam requests
 * Cancel C&P exam requests
 * Create an insufficient exam request
 * Track individual and cumulative pending exams
 * Request Veterans Affairs Form (VAF) 7131 information
 * Create VA Regional Office reports
 * Create Automated Management Information System (AMIS) 290 reports
 * Create insufficient exam report
 * Send Automatic Mailman bulletins to AMIE mail groups

Patient Records Navigation

 * View health summaries
 * View appointment lists
 * View progress notes
 * View discharge summaries
 * View consultation requests and results
 * View cumulative vitals
 * View active medications
 * View lab reports
 * View imaging
 * View procedures
 * View Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE)/Department of Defense (DoD) data, if available

Reports

 * All existing AMIE reports for VBA are available
 * Custom C&P template tracking reports for VHA are available
 * Other C&P activity reports not available in AMIE

C&P Exam Entry

 * All standard AMIE worksheets are available in template form
 * Automatic sending of completed exam requests
 * Ability to save template work in progress and finish later
 * Ability for site to review exams before releasing it to VHA
 * Multiple templates can be merged into a single exam

Additional Information

 * Additional information and downloads are available on the VA Intranet.

Links
CAPRI Documentation: http://www.va.gov/vdl/application.asp?appid=133

CAPRI Source Code: http://opensourcevista.net:8888/NancysVistAServer/CAPRI_177_05_Source.zip