News Clips

Using Mobile Phones and Open Source Tools to Empower Social Workers in Tanzania

Beatrice M. Dias, Daniel Nuffer, et.al. | MobileActive | December 1, 2010

In this paper we describe a text message (SMS) based solution that harnesses the prevalence of mobile phones coupled with several Open Source tools to empower these para-social workers.
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Don't Repeat the UK's Electronic Health Records Failure

Stephen Soumerai and Tony Avery | The Huffington Post | December 1, 2010

Fueled by the economic stimulus passed by Congress in 2008, the federal government has embarked on a controversial $30 billion program to induce doctors throughout the country to adopt electronic health records (EHRs) by 2014.

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Avoiding Another Lost Decade For Open Source

Eckhard Schwarzat and Malcolm Newbury | Smart Healthcare | December 1, 2010

-The DoH's apparent enthusiasm for openness has not been reflected in its consultation paper on information

The positive stance of the Cabinet Office towards Open Source software is widely communicated. However the Department of Health's current IT consultation paper 'An Information Revolution' does not mention open source software at all. This stark omission in a paper which depends on 'a presumption of openness' across the NHS supply chain begs for comment from the open source community. 

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Taking medical records into the digital age

Sreevidya Krishna | IBM Developer Works | November 30, 2010

...With a growing population and an increase in the number of patients, the pressure on doctors and hospital staff has increased drastically in the last decade. It has become very difficult for a physician to track a patient's medical history (including past visit information, lab results, previous medications, and drug allergies) through a traditional system. Read More »

OpenEHR / IHTSDO Update from the Board

David Ingram, Sam Heard and Dipak Kalra | OpenEHR Foundation | November 30, 2010

At the end of August, the Foundation Board posted an announcement about progress of discussions with IHTSDO concerning governance of archetypes and SNOMED terminology, expecting to be in a position to report back by mid-October...there has as yet been no feedback and thus we have not been able to provide any more information...there will be a formal response soon, and at that stage we will be able to discuss the outcome more widely. Read More »

Direct Project completes first models of simple NHIN

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | November 30, 2010

The first version of the software that will allow simple information exchange between providers, a crucial enabler for the first stage of meaningful use of electronic health records, was announced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.  Read More »

Open Source Innovation Starts to Make Inroads in Pharma

Press Release | Frost & Sullivan | November 29, 2010

Open source innovation, a concept that has been used in the IT sector for more than three decades, is now successfully being applied in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to promote innovation in the drug discovery process according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan. Read More »

Healthcare Communication Gets an Upgrade

Brian Ahier | O'Reilly Radar | November 29, 2010

The Direct Project announced today the completion of its open-source connectivity-enabling software and the start of a series of pilots that will be demonstrating directed secure messaging for healthcare stakeholders over the Internet.

The Direct Project specifies a simple, secure, scalable, standards-based way for participants to send encrypted health information directly to trusted recipients over the Internet.

Also announced: Read More »

FOSS Medical Records Implementers Assembly

Nimrod Firaza, MD | National Telehealth Center | November 27, 2010

UPM-NThC shared experiences with its implementation and pilot research efforts with Medical Mission Group Hospitals and Health Services Cooperative Philippines (MMGHHSCP) Federation at Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati CIty last November 26, 2010. Read More »

The Role of Open Data in Development

Simon Parrish | aidinfo.org | November 24, 2010

In short: building international development open data portals will help to create a more effective, data-literate aid sector; openness fosters a culture of learning and improvement, and if you’re doing something interesting with data, talk about it.

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Project Masiluleke: Comprehensive HIV Care with Mobiles

Mohini Bhavsar | MobileActive.org | November 24, 2010

Monopolizing on the 90% of South Africans who own mobile phones, the iTEACH team -- with collaborators from Pop!Tech, The Praekelt Foundation, and Frog Design -- brought HIV awareness to the masses and improved treatment compliance through the use of text messaging.

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Open Source and the Federal Budget Squeeze, Part 2

John K. Higgins | Linux Insider | November 23, 2010

The marketing stars appear to be coming into alignment for the vendors of open source offerings who are targeting the U.S. government. Significant barriers to adopting open source technology at the federal level are breaking down, and tight budgets provide an opportunity for vendors to emphasize the cost savings features of open technologies.

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Coding the Middleware for Government Data

Alex Howard | O'Reilly Radar | November 23, 2010

Cities, states and agencies are publishing more government data online, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Much government data is still in paper form, locked away in file cabinets, or in closed formats on obscure servers. For instance, the data-driven story of BrightScope, which uses government data to clarify 401(k) plans, started with boxes upon boxes of printouts. Read More »

Project Activate - Ushahidi Comes To Town

Robin Hough | The Guardian | November 22, 2010

As part of the Guardian's second Project Activate initiative we open up our doors and our minds to the crisis crowdsourcing platform Ushahidi for a week of creative and technological collaboration Read More »

IT to Support Greater Collaboration Between VA, Indian Health Service

Neil Versel | FierceHealthIT | November 22, 2010

Interoperable health IT is a major component of an expanded partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service to improve the health of Native American and Native Alaskan veterans. The two government agencies last week signed a memorandum of understanding that spells out a plan for better coordination of care, resource sharing and collaboration based on the strengths of each entity. Read More »