Open-source health information technology: A case study of electronic medical records

Safadi, Hani; Chan, David W.; Dawes, Martin; Roper, Mark; Faraj, Samer

doi:10.1016/j.hlpt.2014.10.011

Cited by 39 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Unlike many EHR tools, OSCAR has been implemented mainly by doctors rather than developers. However, it has become widespread among health care providers [ 67 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review

Syzdykova¹,

Malta²,

Zolfo³

et al. 2017

JMIR Med Inform

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BackgroundDespite the great impact of information and communication technologies on clinical practice and on the quality of health services, this trend has been almost exclusive to developed countries, whereas countries with poor resources suffer from many economic and social issues that have hindered the real benefits of electronic health (eHealth) tools. As a component of eHealth systems, electronic health records (EHRs) play a fundamental role in patient management and effective medical care services. Thus, the adoption of EHRs in regions with a lack of infrastructure, untrained staff, and ill-equipped health care providers is an important task. However, the main barrier to adopting EHR software in low- and middle-income countries is the cost of its purchase and maintenance, which highlights the open-source approach as a good solution for these underserved areas.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of open-source EHR systems based on the requirements and limitations of low-resource settings.MethodsFirst, we reviewed existing literature on the comparison of available open-source solutions. In close collaboration with the University of Gondar Hospital, Ethiopia, we identified common limitations in poor resource environments and also the main requirements that EHRs should support. Then, we extensively evaluated the current open-source EHR solutions, discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and their appropriateness to fulfill a predefined set of features relevant for low-resource settings.ResultsThe evaluation methodology allowed assessment of several key aspects of available solutions that are as follows: (1) integrated applications, (2) configurable reports, (3) custom reports, (4) custom forms, (5) interoperability, (6) coding systems, (7) authentication methods, (8) patient portal, (9) access control model, (10) cryptographic features, (11) flexible data model, (12) offline support, (13) native client, (14) Web client,(15) other clients, (16) code-based language, (17) development activity, (18) modularity, (19) user interface, (20) community support, and (21) customization. The quality of each feature is discussed for each of the evaluated solutions and a final comparison is presented.ConclusionsThere is a clear demand for open-source, reliable, and flexible EHR systems in low-resource settings. In this study, we have evaluated and compared five open-source EHR systems following a multidimensional methodology that can provide informed recommendations to other implementers, developers, and health care professionals. We hope that the results of this comparison can guide decision making when needing to adopt, install, and maintain an open-source EHR solution in low-resource settings.

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“…Unlike many EHR tools, OSCAR has been implemented mainly by doctors rather than developers. However, it has become widespread among health care providers [ 67 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review

Syzdykova¹,

Malta²,

Zolfo³

et al. 2017

JMIR Med Inform

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…OSCAR EMR is a web-based EMR system initially developed for primary care practitioners in Canada. OSCAR EMR has a complex data model, and additional data points are supported by an electronic form (eForm) module that stores data as key-value pairs [16]. eForms do not support images or other nontextual data.…”

Section: Integration With Electronic Medical Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

LesionMap: A Method and Tool for the Semantic Annotation of Dermatological Lesions for Documentation and Machine Learning

Eapen¹,

Archer²,

Sartipi³

2020

JMIR Dermatol

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Diagnosis and follow-up of patients in dermatology rely on visual cues. Documentation of skin lesions in dermatology is time-consuming and inaccurate. Digital photography is resource-intensive, difficult to standardize, and has privacy concerns. We propose a simple method—LesionMap—and an electronic health software tool—LesionMapper—for semantically annotating dermatological lesions on a body wireframe. We discuss how the type, distribution, and progression of lesions can be represented in a standardized way. The tool is an open-source JavaScript package that can be integrated into web-based electronic medical records. We believe that LesionMapper will facilitate documentation in dermatology that can be used for machine learning in a privacy-preserving manner.

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“…Openness has sometimes been referred to as a philosophy, reflected in the “open nature” of FOSS development, whether it is collaborative or competitive (Schlagwein et al, 2017). Indeed, the “community is perhaps the most important feature of [the FOSS product]” (Safadi et al, 2015: 25), as it allows individual contributors to tap into new sources of relevant knowledge and to integrate the new knowledge into the FOSS product (Dahlander and Frederiksen, 2012). A norm and key practice in these communities is to reduce project forking (the copying of source code to begin parallel projects) stemming from disagreements about a current project’s roadmap, among other reasons.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entrepreneurial actions and the legitimation of free/open source software services

Marsan

Carillo

Negoita

2019

Journal of Information Technology

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Free/open source software users were previously responsible for managing the challenges associated with their software themselves. Recently, a new generation of entrepreneurs seized this emerging market opportunity by positioning themselves as service providers for free/open source software users. Conceptualizing such providers as “institutional entrepreneurs,” we find that due to the nature of the free/open source software context, they exhibit a different set of legitimation actions compared with similar efforts in other contexts. Based on our empirical analysis of free/open source software service providers and drawing on prior theory, we identify two entrepreneurial actions aimed at gaining legitimacy specific to the free/open source software context, namely, product-based theorization actions and evangelization actions. We also demonstrate that institutional entrepreneurship is shaped by the nature of free/open source software products and the openness values at the core of the free/open source software movement. Our work hence underscores the importance of the context of institutional entrepreneurship.

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Open-source health information technology: A case study of electronic medical records

Cited by 39 publications

References 42 publications

Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review

Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review

LesionMap: A Method and Tool for the Semantic Annotation of Dermatological Lesions for Documentation and Machine Learning

Entrepreneurial actions and the legitimation of free/open source software services

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