How Open Source Is Enhancing Healthcare

With the recent development in software technology, many application systems are now competing for medical attention. Healthcare (or what we can call it as medical software) is evolving rapidly through communications, record-keeping system to a source of decision support, consequently, playing an active role in clinical service. However, unlike many other services, medical software is not very well regulated and places like a safety burden and cost of ineffective use solely depend on the physicians.

Audrey ThroneThe reason why most medical personnel pay little to no attention to the fundamentals of their software is because they feel that software technology is far from being under iatric control. Nonetheless, with its extensive usage, physicians can not only influence institutional purchases but can also supplement institutional infrastructure with personal tools.

The more recent software advancements, the Direct Project in particular, directed by the US Department of Health and Human Services, is an open source software for secure email proceedings — aiming to replace fax as the primary means of communication between practices and even with patients. Modern-day medical software uses open source power to support patients As a result of its non-commercial open-source design, Direct Project has many unique features including universal addressing that is not specifically tied to an institution or vendor...