[FOSS_health] Re: [Hardhats] Re: X-links for VOE interfacing

[Joseph Dal Molin]

To add some context which has been provided  on the VistA community 
discussion list and not on openhealth or the OSHCA list. WorldVistA EHR 
is the first and only (so far) open source EHR to have passed CCHIT EHR 
certification. Without going into excruciating detail, certification 
brings with it responsibilities that in effect require protection of the 
certification branding. Improvements to certified software must be 
vetted by the organization holding the certification agreement...so in a 
way it reinforces the behaviour the GPL is designed to encourage. 
WorldVistA EHR is a mix of GPL and Public Domain software....like any 
FOSS software there is the potential for the code to be forked. In a 
nutshell, the certified version cannot  be forked and stay 
certified...what we are working on is an end user agreement to address 
this and other scenarios which only focuses on the ability to claim use 
of certified code and does not affect the open source nature of 
WorldVistA EHR.

Like all "trail blazing" work, it is often impossible to predict the 
challenges one will encounter or how long it will take to work through 
them. In this case...the quote below didn't quite capture the 
reality....what we were not able to do is invest in working on sorting 
out the certification agreement while at the same time work on passing 
certification.

To put it all into perspective... uncertified version of WorldVistA EHR 
has been available as a download for several weeks. The benefit of all 
this to the rest of the open source health IT community is that 
WorldVistA will have blazed a path that others can follow and 
demonstrate that you can have your "cake and open source it too".

Cheers

Joseph

Molly Cheah wrote:
> http://modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/FREE/308090001 
> 
> 
> CCHIT-certified World VistA EHR facing delays
> 
>> The delay can be attributed in large measure to unique legal and 
>> business considerations that arose by virtue of certification as an 
>> open-source software product, according to Joseph Dal Molin, interim 
>> president and vice president of business development for WorldVistA. 
>> "The main thing that has been the stumbling block for us is 
>> translating the (24-page) CCHIT agreement into an end-user agreement," 
>> Dal Molin said in a telephone interview. "We need to maintain 
>> certification in an open-source world. As bizarre as it may seem, we 
>> didn't anticipate that as part of the (development) effort."
>>
> Molly
> 
> 
> javid wrote:
> 
>> IMHO  commercial entities will jump in only when they see a good
>> response and some buzz. I think that can happen only when Cchit
>> version is officially out--again IMHO
>>
>> javid
>>
>> On Aug 20, 10:06 pm, Joseph Dal Molin <dalmo... at e-cology.ca> wrote:
>>  
>>
>>> Chris,
>>>
>>> There is nothing preventing any vendor that has "enhancing
>>> services/products" to interface with a VistA based system today. There
>>> are several ways to do it and CCHIT certification does not affect this.
>>>
>>> Joseph
>>>
>>>   
> 
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