The use of open source Electronic Health Records within the federal safety net

A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), 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).

FQHCs were originally meant to provide comprehensive health services to the medically underserved, but their mission has changed since their founding. They are now focused on enhancing primary care services in underserved urban and rural communities.

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.

Open source EHR systems examined included VistA, RPMS, OpenEMR, and OpenMRS.

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