Open source EHR systems empower America's community health centers

A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, examined "the use of open source electronic health records within the federal safety net."

The authors of this study looked into the acquisition, implementation, and operation of open source electronic health records (EHR) systems within safety net medical centers; in particular, the Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which are community-based organizations that provide comprehensive primary care and preventive care—including health, oral, and, mental health/substance abuse services to persons of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status.

...These community health centers serve over 20 million of the 60 million medically disenfranchised and typically provide care for low income, undeserved communities.

...The study shows that the cost of ownership for open source EHRs was 30% to 60% less than the cost of equivalent closed source systems, although this number is based on a small number of cases for which cost data was available.