Section 1.1: OpenEMR – A Comprehensive EMR Solution

The first application I discovered is OpenEMR, which stands for Open Electronic Medical Record. This software serves as a system for managing patient data for doctors, clinics, or hospitals. OpenEMR is completely free and open source, allowing anyone to install and utilize it for their services.

Developers can also tailor it to meet specific client needs. Built with PHP and some JavaScript, this software operates seamlessly in a web browser.

The platform comes with various user roles, including admin, physician, clinician, accountant, patient, and receptionist, each with tailored access controls. Additionally, it supports numerous modules for functionalities like SMS notifications, faxing, and third-party integrations such as Telehealth and lab systems.

Users can schedule appointments, manage payments, access patient records, write prescriptions, and implement clinical decision rules. Notably, the system supports approximately 30 languages and allows for the easy addition of more.

Importantly, the OpenEMR team excels at meeting certification requirements, holding ONC and SLI certificates, among others, ensuring compliance with various legal standards.

For software engineers looking to make a positive impact or pivot into the healthcare sector, OpenEMR represents an excellent opportunity for involvement.

Section 1.2: Fasten – Your Personal Medical Data Manager

What I appreciate about software engineering is the ability to pose a question and develop a functional solution that benefits everyone.

Jason Kutalunga raised an intriguing question regarding the possibility of consolidating our medical data from various healthcare providers to gain a complete view of our health history.

His solution is Fasten, a system that enables users to aggregate their medical data from hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies into a centralized record system. Written in Go and TypeScript, it allows developers to engage in meaningful pro bono work with modern programming languages.

Although the quality of the screenshots may not be the best, they showcase a promising product without a demo available. Fasten integrates numerous sources, including Medicare and Cigna.

A key feature of Fasten is its commitment to the principle of data ownership. Users can self-host their systems, keeping their family health records independent from third-party providers. This allows them to control access and visualize their data through insightful graphs.

For anyone who has faced health challenges, the ability to collect and analyze health data is crucial for making informed decisions, like selecting the right healthcare professional. Enhanced health monitoring can lead to quicker and more cost-effective diagnoses and recovery pathways. Fasten has the potential to significantly improve lives while exemplifying the principles of open source.

Section 1.3: OpenBoxes – Streamlining Medical Supply Chains

Another noteworthy project is OpenBoxes, a versatile supply chain management system. It allows users to monitor inventory, suppliers, and forecast future product needs based on consumption patterns.

While not exclusively for healthcare, OpenBoxes is widely utilized in this sector. Its ability to track product expiration dates minimizes waste, which is particularly valuable.

From a technical standpoint, OpenBoxes is intriguing, with a backend developed in Groovy and a frontend in JavaScript. Although Groovy doesn't often make headlines, it remains an actively used language based on Java.

In summary, there are some remarkable open source healthcare projects available. After reviewing hundreds of options, these three stand out. The healthcare sector is also ripe with integrations and AI tools, promising exciting advancements in open source initiatives as new research emerges.

If you're aware of any impressive healthcare projects, feel free to share! And don't forget to subscribe for more insights into open source innovations!