Free Open Source EHR/EMR System That Runs on Ubuntu Linux

My smoking hot girlfriend, whom I mention every once in a while, is the IT Director at two medical practices near my house. Since we are both in IT, we often talk shop and something that she complains about is the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system that both practices she manages use. Another name for this type of system is Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system.

Her two big complaints are the outrageous cost, and their shitty service. If you haven't guessed the company by that description, I'll just be up front with you and tell you she uses Allscripts.

Another thing to note about Allscripts is they recently had a huge security breach!

Via CSO:

Allscripts, the billion-dollar electronic health record (EHR) company headquartered in Chicago, IL said they were still working to recover from a ransomware attack that left several applications offline after data centers in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC were infected on Thursday. 

In a conference call for customers on Saturday, which Salted Hash listened-in on, Allscripts’ Jeremy Maxwell, director of information security, said their PRO EHR and Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) services were the hardest hit by the ransomware attack. 

Other services had availability issues as well, but those have since been restored, such as direct messaging and some CCDA functionality.

During one of our conversations, I asked her if she had thought about standing up an open source alternative to Allscripts, to which she didn't think any really existed. Well, I found one!

Introducing OpenEMR!

From their page:

OpenEMR is the most popular open source electronic health records and medical practice management solution. ONC certified with international usage, OpenEMR's goal is a superior alternative to its proprietary counterparts. With passionate volunteers and contributors dedicated to guarding OpenEMR's status as a free, open source software solution for medical practices with a commitment to openness, kindness and cooperation.

Here are some features:

• Free
• ONC Certified
• Track Patient Demographics
• Patient Scheduling
• Electronic Medical Records
• Prescriptions
• Medical Billing
• Clinical Decision Rules
• Reports
• Multilanguage Support
• Security
• Community

An even larger list of their features can be found on their Wiki here.

Here are some screenshots:

It's like I always say, if there is a really good open source option available, forget paying outrageous licensing fees, and spend that money on hardware instead.

If you are running a medical practice, you might consider using OpenEMR instead of something that is over priced that provides really shitty service like Allscripts... Just an idea anyway, it's your money.