Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews) [LWN.net]

LinuxMedNews reports on the loss of customer control over browser-based Electronic Medical Record systems. "The age of the all-browser based Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record (EMR/EHR) is upon us. Local area network (LAN) based EMR's upon which older generation EMR's companies have built their products is dead. This paradigm shift is occurring now. This development threatens Free and Open Source medical software, practitioners and patients as they have never been threatened before."

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Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 11, 2007 20:52 UTC (Thu) by imcdnzl (guest, #28899) [Link]

I think this is alarmist. As the article points out the source is already closed for LAN based products.

As the article also points out open source browser based ones can be deployed.

As I see it is an opportunity to move forward. If everything runs browser it is easier to change software as no client changes needed and can start to move in open source software.

Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 12, 2007 10:11 UTC (Fri) by epa (subscriber, #39769) [Link]

It's a silly article because it raises all sorts of concerns in a dramatic way but gives no concrete examples.

Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 12, 2007 18:33 UTC (Fri) by horen (subscriber, #2514) [Link]

I disagree. I think the article is very clear and straightforward.

Although purchasing proprietary EMR software locked the doc into paying a hefty support plan every year, at least s/he had the security of knowing that patient records "lived" at his/her office and, in these days of HIPPA requirements, that's important. Moreover, s/he could "mine" their patient data, using "canned" reports, as well as custom reports of their own design (software permitting, of course).

A locally-installed, browser-based EMR package would be great -- like the article said, you perform a server installation, but nothing client-side. Perfect!

But an offsite, vendor-located, browser-based EMR package is the worst thing possible -- even if such a setup would pass HIPPA rules (I guess it would), where's the doc's access to raw patient data? Where's his/her software security? It reminds me of all the things wrong with leasing a car, rather than buying one... only worse.

What happens if the practice's ISP goes down? if the phone lines go down? if the vendor suddenly declares bankruptcy and locks the "digital doors"? Don't say it can't/won't happen -- been there, seen that.

Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 14, 2007 13:17 UTC (Sun) by Erich_J_Ritzmann (guest, #39670) [Link]

It might seem alarmist, however, I believe there is a real threat.

While here are projects like openemr/oemr.org however, last time I checked it was still running
on PHP 4 long after the main Linux releases had been shipping 5 as the default. In general the
pace development is slow and the enhancements are uneven. I guess to the average "geek"
operating systems and compilers are sexy technology, but application software less so.

The medical market is dominated by large players with very much interest in locking in their
customers into solutions that work reasonably well.

Browser Based EMR's Threatens Software Freedom (LinuxMedNews)

Posted Jan 26, 2007 1:13 UTC (Fri) by roelofs (guest, #2599) [Link]

In general the pace development is slow and the enhancements are uneven. I guess to the average "geek" operating systems and compilers are sexy technology, but application software less so.

On the contrary--FLOSS applications are thriving. Check out the GNOME and KDE communities, AbiWord, OpenOffice, Firefox, JACK and other A/V software, ... It's a zoo, and that's because all of those things are directly useful to and usable by the geeks in question.

Vertical apps, on the other hand--such as EMRs--are beasts of another color entirely. They are, by definition, almost always niche markets, and unless one is either part of the industry/field/niche in question or is interested in it for some personal reason (which is rare), such apps are close to 100% useless to your average geek--and therefore completely uninteresting, at least in comparison to all the software one knows and loves (and/or hates, but then that's just extra motivation to tinker with it) and uses every day.

Greg