OSHCA: Integrating Healthcare IT through the use of Open Source Software
Open Source Health Care Alliance (OSHCA) is a non-profit organization whose objective is to promote the use of Open Source Software in the health care industry. The organization guides the health sector in taking advantage of the various benefits of using Open Source Software. It has worldwide patronage from people who recommend Open Source Software Concepts in Health Care. According to its secretary, Joseph D. Dal Molin, the proprietary software systems in health-care make it difficult to share medical information and integrate systems. He said: "To provide quality health-care services, health-care providers need to share information whenever they require. In a closed environment, the interfacing issue between disparate systems has been an obstacle for communication and information sharing." He added that the proprietary software model will not suit the health sector as health-care systems are unpredictable and hence require flexible and cost effective Open source software solutions, so that the health care industry need not depend on a single vendor. Molin believes that using open source software will help easy transfer of technology across people and that Open Source software is best way to share various medical-related information. Via: technewsworld.com