OStatic

Though the use of open source software in federal health care programs is being considered far more seriously than it has been in the past, ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn reminds us that landing a government contract requires more than the sympathetic ears of legislators and administrators.

So far, Blankenhorn explains, Obama has committed to creating interoperability between health records kept by the military and Veterans Administration, but not to a completely open (in terms of code, or standards) health information technology platform. The Obama Administration seems willing to investigate open source solutions, but government contracting procedures could be a major roadblock to adopting an open platform. The open alternatives could be out-lawyered, out-lobbied, and minimized by an army of salesmen.

There is plenty of enthusiasm surrounding the idea of open source solutions in healthcare, but getting policies in place hasn't been easy. Open source advocate Fred Trotter was prepared to do battle when he met recently with representatives of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), but got a pleasant surprise instead. [Several] issues were brought up in the meeting, he writes, and CCHIT is listening to everyone.

Trotter went to the meeting loaded for bear. The FOSS community, to the degree that such a thing is possible, had authorized me to go nuclear on the issue before the meeting, he writes. I had been given assurance that the community has been so frustrated with dealing with CCHIT that if they did not work with us that if I started an alternative certification program that I would be backed up with the dollars and brains from the community needed to make an alternative certification go.