Cost PRO:Īlthough often referred to as “free,” open source EMRs still must be purchased, albeit at a notably lower price than most proprietary EMRs developed by traditional vendors. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of open source EMRs. The first NHS trust to opt for an open source EMR solution went live with its patient record system in 2015.Įven so, in England and around the world, open source EMRs are still an alternative that evokes skepticism from many healthcare professionals, who find the software less robust and reliable than traditional, proprietary EMRs and requiring more technical know-how on the part of users. According to the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, the National Health Service (NHS) has endorsed open source EMRs as an option for its provider trusts (state-funded hospitals) in England, noting that the downloadable, shareable software can help speed up development. In the healthcare world, open source EMR (electronic medical record) software has emerged in recent years as, potentially, a flexible and less expensive alternative to proprietary, vendor-licensed, traditional EMR systems.
It is estimated that over 70% of the world’s Web servers run on a combination of open source software. Users also contribute to the development of the software by sharing how they have employed and modified it and redistributing it.
#Lxi expert software pro con code
Open source software - like the famed operating system Linux - makes its source programming code openly available to download.