Department of Defense Makes EHR Software Free and Open

A downloadable, open source version of the military’s electronic health record software that is used for troops on the battlefield will be available through the nonprofit organization, Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA).

In a May 22 press release, Dr. Karen Guice, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Health Affairs, said the open source software is, “similar to the DoD’s theater EHR, which has been instrumental in supporting DoD’s need for capturing and exchanging health care data of our deployed service members.”  She added that, “It seems only appropriate that we donate the software to the public, so it can be reused and adapted by both large and small users, as well as developers.”