OpenSource and Health Records

[jdrodrig]

Just thought of sharing a tangible example of the desirability to approach most of the reforms this country (US) needs from the open source perspective.

Affordable way to improve Health Records

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1241...Tabs%3Darticle

Created with several billion dollars in taxpayer funds over two decades and used in more than 1,400 VA facilities, the source code is in the public domain, meaning software developers around the world can freely build features into it. Add the cost of hardware and the services of a company that has adapted the VA software for commercial use, and Midland paid less than $7 million for a full electronic medical-record system

[Kareeser]

YES.

Open-source EMR is definitely the way to go, once they can assure clients that it is empirically safer than proprietary versions.

As Linux users, we take that last statement for granted, but it's harder to convince people when money is on the line.

Most commercial EMR software charges clients several hundred dollars MONTHLY per console... it adds up!

I'd love to market this... heh heh.