OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE/FREE SOFTWARE (OSS/FS)
Background
OSS/FS is contrasted with proprietary or commercial software.
Proprietary software refers to which an individual or company holds the exclusive copyright, at the same time restricting other people’s access to the software’s source code. Commercial software is developed by business or individuals with the aim of making money from its licensing and use.
Free software
It means to have the freedom to use, to study, to redistribute, and improve the software in any way they wish.
Its fundamental issues are ethical and philosophical.
It is a social movement.
Open Source Software
It promotes software reliability and quality by supporting independent peer review a rapid evolution of source code, as well as making the source code of the software freely reliable.
It guarantees the rights to read, redistribute, modify and use the software freely.
Its issue is whether software should be open source, not an ethical one.
It is a development methodology
OSS/FS Applications
Common applications that most nurses use on a daily basis:
1. Operating system
2. Web Browser
3. E-mail client
4. Word processing or integrated office suite
5. Presentation tools
OPERATING SYSTEMS : GNU/LINUX
- A GNU/ Linux distribution contains the Linux kernel at its heart and all the OSS/FS components required to produce full operating system functionality.
• GNU/Linux – tem that is increasingly used by many people to cover a distribution of operating systems and other associated software components.
• Kernel – is the critical center point of an operating system that controls the CPU usage, memory management, and hardware devices.
-also mediates communication between the different programs running within the operating system.
WEB BROWSER AND SERVER: APACHE AND MOZILLA
Web browsing is a prime example where both serve and client side applications are needed.
Web servers are responsible for receiving and fulfilling requests from Web browsers.
• Apache – HTTP server, developed for Unix, Windows NT, and other platforms, is currently the top Web server with 70% of the market share
-it also grew to become the number 1 web browser in 1996
• Mozilla – graphical web browser, designed for standards compliance, and with a large number of browser features, including support for Hypertext Mark Up Language (HTML) 4.0, CSS 2, Javascript, and Java. It aims to continue Netscape communication.
E-MAIL: SENDEMAIL (E-MAIL SERVER)
• E-MAIL: SENDEMAIL (E-MAIL SERVER)
- Function is to deliver use e-mail to it’s destination.
Sendmail- began in 1982at the University of California, Berkeley, as a project to enable e-mail routing between different servers.
- it is now the market leader in internet-based e-mail systems.
WORD POCESSING OR INTEGRATED OFFICE SUITE: OPEN OFFICE(OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY SUITE)
• Open Office – OSS/FS equivalent of Microsoft Office, with most of its features.
-includes a full featured word processor, spread sheet and presentation software.
SOME OTHE OSS/FS APPLICATIONS
• Bekley Internet Name Domain (BIND)
- internet naming system.
-these serves take human friendly names and convert them into computer friendly numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and vice versa.
-developed and distributed by the University of California at Berkley
• Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL)
- high-level programming language that is frequently used for creating CGI( common gateway interface) programs.
- started in 1987, it was designed for processing text and derives from the C programming language and many other tools and languages.
• LAMP ( The Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) – architecture has become very popular in the industry as a way of cheaply deploying reliable, scalable, and secure web applications.
• OSS/FS HEALTHCAE APPLICATIONS
• openEHR – the openEHR foundation is an international, not-for-profit organization that is working toward the development of interoperable, lifelong EHRs.
- it was created to enable the development of open specifications, software and knowledge resources for health information systems, in particular EHR system.
• FreeMED – flagship product of the freeMED software foundation
-focuses on the needs of physicians and healthcare providers.
• OpenEMR – free, open source, medical clinic practice management and EMR application.
• CARE2X – originated by a nurse.
-aims to develop a practical, integrated healthcare information system (HIS) and is designed to integrate the different information systems existing in healthcare organizations into one single efficient system.
EU- FUNDED PROJECTS
• SPIRIT – aims to provide a virtual community and meeting place, and include resources and services fo best practice open source news and software for healthcare.
• SMARTIE – goal is to offer comprehensive collection of selected medical software decision tools.
• openECG – aims to promote the consistent use of format and communication standards for computerized ECGs and to pave the way toward developing similar standards for stress EC, holter ECG, and real-time monitoring.
• OPEN SOURCE MEDICAL IMAGE ANALYSIS (OSMIA) – designed to provide and OSS/FS development environment for medical image analysis research in order to facilitate the fee and open exchange of ideas and techniques.
• PICNIC – designed to develop the next generation regional healthcare networks to support new ways of providing health and social care.
• FOSS: POLICY SUPPORT- aims to work on three specific tracks: government policy toward OSS/FS, gender issues in open source and the efficiency of open source as a system for collaborative problem-solving.
Open Medical Records System (OpenMRS)
OpenMRS is an electronic medical record system that lies at the center of any computerized health information system. It is a paperless, interoperable, multi-provider, multi-specialty, multi- discipline computerized medical record, and is ultimately free. It is an open source medical clinic practice management. This said application system has been a goal for many researchers, healthcare professionals, administrators and politicians for the past twenty years; however, it is about to become a reality in many western countries. Its applicability in the healthcare setting can effectively integrate into the routine clinical workflow. OpenMRS can be used interchangeably with other terms such as electronic medical record (EMR), electronic patient record (EPR), electronic health record (EHR), and computer-based patient record (CPR). This offers a range of functions including Practice Management (PM) features for patient scheduling and patient demographics, online EMRs, prescription writing capability with the ability to email and print prescriptions, and the ability to generate Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or HIPAA.
