The success of GNU Health
In 2006, Luis Falcón founded GNU Health, a free health data system that lately received the “Best Project of Social Benefit” award given by the Free Software Foundation.
GNU Solidario is the non-profit NGO behind GNU Health, which began as a free software program project for Primary Care services in rural areas and developing nations. Since then, it has developed into a full Hospital and Health Information System utilized by the United Nations, public hospitals and Ministries of Health (similar to in Entre Rios, Argentina), and private institutions across the globe.
GNU Health/Solidario and the United Nations International Institute for Global Health — UNU IIGH — signed a settlement in 2011 to practice well-being professionals around the globe on the system, as a means of selling free software program in public well being, particularly in rising economies. Since then, each organization have been cooperating and increasing their community of companions to ship well being in a common means; which, additionally works in the direction of the UN’s Millenium Development Goals.
Q: What are the top three ways that GNU Health is best than a proprietary system in use now?
A: GNU Health is an official GNU community-based project, so…
Administrators and suppliers can obtain GNU Health totally free, research it, then adapt it to their needs.
There’s no vendor lock-in, because there is no vendor. There are no hidden costs or improve scripts. Everyone will all the time be capable of upgrade to the newest model without cost.
There is a global community of assist around GNU Health. We have a community GNU Health demo server, documentation at WikiBooks, IRC channels, mailing lists, bug monitoring systems, and a development environment.
Q: How does it transcend value?
A: Freedom and ethics.
GNU Health evolves from the expertise, suggestions, contributions of an always rising community. There are already tutorial establishments, just like the United Nations and its International Institute for Global Health, instructing GNU Health to health professionals around the globe. GNU Solidario, the non-profit group behind GNU Health, delivers health and education with free software. We work with the United Nations and different healthcare institutions to offer major care and preventive drugs and different MDG (Millenium Development Goals). For occasion, we’ve a GNU Health module particular to MDG6, serving to fight Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. GNU Solidario additionally hosts the International Workshop on eHealth in Emerging Economies, a yearly convention targeted on free software program on eHealth, and how it can assist organizations to enhance the lives of their people. We have guests and members from Doctors without Borders, United Nations, UNESCO, Red Cross, tutorial establishments, and health ministries. As you’ll be able to see, it goes far beyond freed from price.
Q: Does GNU Health work in tandem with present health programs or does it exchange them?
A: It can do each.
In phrases of well-being heart management, GNU Health combines and integrates patient data from their digital medical data (demographics, evaluations, medical historical past, labs, and so forth.) with the well-being of heart’s processes (accounting, human resources, inventory, provide chain management, and so forth.). Any uncoupled programs (HR, EMR, Accounting, SCM, and so forth.) could be changed in order to optimize the sources and processes into one system.
GNU Health can even interoperate with different free software program healthcare initiatives. For instance, GNU Health can retail patient medical pictures (MRIs, Xrays, CT, and so forth.) domestically or join on to a PACS server utilizing DICOM viewers like Ginkgo or Aeskulap. Interoperability in a hospital atmosphere is a must and free software gives the instruments to attain more.
Q: Have most health administrators been keen or reluctant to implement an open supply well being system?
A: We have carried out GNU Health in each public hospitals and private healthcare institutions.
And they love the thought of getting a system that belongs to them. GNU Health is a community-based undertaking, so they don’t seem to be tied to a software program vendor; there are not any licenses, hidden prices, or vendor lock-ins.
Q: Do suppliers have to purchase new gear and hire IT professionals to implement GNU Health?
A: It will depend on the scale and complexity of the center.
Hospital Information Systems take care of many facets (accounting, inventory, medical data, suppliers, epidemiology, laboratory, pharmacy, safety and entry management, and so forth.). So, it is no shock that a properly deliberate and designed undertaking carried out by a well-trained native staff will produce a high-quality product with an excessive level of sustainability.
Q: Why do you are feeling GNU Health benefits more patients, caregivers, and medical doctors than present systems?
A: In addition to being free software program…
The system focuses on the human issue and takes a holistic method to the patient — making concepts like well-being promotion, illness prevention, household drugs, and social determinants of illness prime priorities. From a technical perspective, scalability and adaptableness are key. At present there are over twenty totally different language and localization groups, making it straightforward for anybody to make use of GNU Health of their area.
Q: Does GNU Health present high scalability?
A: GNU Health gives options for small workplaces and huge hospitals.
The system’s modular design permits them to adapt its performance to the complexity of their well-being heart. GNU Health runs on prime of the incredible PostgreSQL database and we are able to implement it in a centralized or distributed atmosphere. Plus, GNUHealth makes use of Python and Tryton frameworks; each is very scalable.
Q: Do you recommend different open source software solutions to healthcare providers and centers?
A: Absolutely.
Systems like Aeskulap or Odoo are wonderful DICOM viewers. Bika Labs is a LIMS that may join on to GNU Health laboratory module. Tryton gives a strong and scalable framework to construct enterprise options.
