OpenMRS, a "multi-institution, non-profit collaborative", creates a robust, scalable, user-driven, open source medical record system platform. It aspires to be the world's leading Open Source medical IT platform, Software Demo: html 
.
Open MRS implements open standards health IT in a way that decreases costs, increases capacity, and lessens the disparities between wealthy and resource-poor environments.
It allows for system development self reliance within resource constrained environments.
Design decisions are driven by real, not perceived needs.
The main problem adressed by Open MRS is this: over 40 million people, up to 95% of them in developing countries, are infected with diseases such as HIV/AIDS, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis or malaria. Prevention and treatment require efficient information management. But clinical care must often be entrusted to less skilled providers.
Whether for lack of time, developers, or money, most health care programs in developing countries manage their information with simple spreadsheets or small, poorly designed databases … if anything at all.
Open MRS offers an easy to use tool with multiple language support and the possibility to extend to other languages with full UTF-8 support.
What does this software allow to do?
- Enable the design of a customized medical record system with no programming knowledge (but medical and systems analysis knowledge is required)
- Register a patient (whereby it is designed to support keyboard navigation as easily as using the mouse), system alerts already existent registrations. Registration includes demographics, clinical observations, encounter data, orders, etc.
- Capture Vitals (f.e. a simple app can be created to repeatedly serve the same form to a clerk at the front of the clinic is capturing vitals for patients.)
- Support for complex data: Radiology images, sound files, etc. can be stored as “complex” observations
- Follow Style Guide (this is for developers, so that they can produce new modules & applications with a consistent user interface and user experience. -> no static, outdated documents)
- Engage in Advanced Administration -> see user face redesign of OpenMRS 2.0 wiki , direct links to all of the features accessible, to the database and the system management interfaces
OpenMRS is built around an extensible concept framework. Simply put, this means that all patient readings, facts and observations are stored in a database, editable by the implementer, and not hard-coded into the database schema.
xxxxx
# Where?
transnational with focus on developing countries,
have a look at their atlas, html
Open MRS was developed by an international team of volunteer software developers, physicians, data clerks, health management staffs and government officials with decades of experience in the medical practice to find an inexpensive solution to health needs in the developing countries, where government has merge resources to solve mounting healthcare needs, that compares with health solutions in the developed countries.
In 2018, Open MRS is being used in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Haiti, India, China, United States, Pakistan, the Philipines, and many other places.
POST http://image-transporter.apps.allmende.io/image
# When did it start?
OPEN MRS started out to fix a database system in a single clinic in Kenya, in 2014.
# Inspired by:
The "project" is inspired by Open Source philosophy. The data model borrows heavily from the publicly licenced Regenstrief Institute, which has over a 30-year history of proven scalability and is based on a concept dictionary<.
xxxxx
# How does Peer-Governance work?
Open MRS is led by led by Regenstrief Institute html and Partners In Health html , a Boston-based philanthropic organization with a focus on improving the lives of underprivileged people. It is being supported by many organizations including international and government aid groups, NGO’s, as well as for-profit and non-profit corporations.
Unclear if really peer-governed so far (an interview would be necessary).
OpenMRS is based on the principle that information should be stored in a way which makes it easy to summarize and analyze, i.e., minimal use of free text and maximum use of coded information.
At its core is a concept dictionary which stores all diagnosis, tests, procedures, drugs and other general questions and potential answers. OpenMRS is a client-server application, which means it is designed to work in an environment where many client computers access the same information on a server.
Keep Commoning & Commerce Distinct. ADD TEXT HERE
Bring Diversity into Shared Purpose: "We believe the best ideas come from people with different backgrounds and talents, and we build a community where these people can come together and innovate." html
Create Semi-Permeable Membranes: Security feature -> User authentication
The API (application programming interface) provides a programmatic “wrapper” around the data model, allowing any developer to program against more simplified method calls rather than having to understand the intricacies of the data model.
Assure Consent in Decisionmaking: "We believe in harnessing the wisdom of our software development community by creating a safe place to raise concerns, discuss failures, improve existing ideas, and solve problems.
Rely on Heterarchy. Open MRS is a common platform upon which medical informatics efforts in developing countries can be built. The system is based on a conceptual database structure which is not dependent on the actual types of medical information required to be collected or on particular data collection forms and so can be customized for different uses. [NOTE: NOT SURE THIS APPLIES HERE]
Data entry is done with the FormEntry module, clients with InfoPath (included in Microsoft Office 2003 and later) can design and enter data using flexible, electronic forms. ...Data can be exported into a spreadsheet format for use in other tools (Excel, Access, etc.)
Modular architecture: An OpenMRS Module can extend and add any type of functionality to the existing API and webapp.
Relationalize Property: UNCLEAR, needs further investigation, Open MRS is a Trademark: OpenMRS®
Honor Transparency in a Sphere of Trust: "We are open, honest, and transparent in both our processes and our software. We publicly document and share our knowledge, skills, experiences, and failures." html
Share Knowledge Generously: The sharing of medical software is meant to ease the work of health care providers and administrators all over the world. It enables people to use health IT systems to share information, concepts and processes and thereby reduce effort. This also enables health care professionals and patients to work together more effectively. Feedback from users (f.e. on the OpenMRS 2.0 Style Guide) is encouraged.
Finance Commons Provisioning ADD TEXT HERE
Peer-Monitor & Apply Graduated Sanctions: ADD TEXT HERE
add a quote
Beat the Bounds of Capitalocentrism: ADD TEXT HERE
Use or Establish Discrimination Free Infrastructures see above, this is what Open MRS is all about!
Strengthen Commons Public Circuits ADD TEXT HERE
Accept State Mediation & Support if Needed: ADD TEXT HERE
Emulate & Then Federate: ADD TEXT HERE
others
# Additional Information
# See also
# Sources