OpenHRE.org is a site dedicated to the proposition that in the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) Framework, patient records can be linked and exchanged using Free Open Source Software (FOSS).

The Framework document notes that "The IOM (Institute of Medicine) has estimated that 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur each year as a result of preventable medical errors in hospitals. Additional research has shown that over 770,000 people are injured or die each year in hospitals from adverse drug events. Consumers are vulnerable to errors when they receive care from multiple sites, so the lack of timely exchange of information has been a longstanding safety and quality concern among clinicians.".

The "timely exchange of information" is the goal of the Open Source Health Records Exchange Organization (OpenHRE.org).

We believe that the best way to achieve an open and affordable Health Records Exchange throughout the nation is through Free Open Source Software. Our vision is that OpenHRE will enable the secure infrastructure through which both proprietary and open Electronic Health Records systems can exchange information.

The answer to "who" may be "you"!

The OpenHRE.org site is currently hosted as a collaboration between Browsersoft Inc. and the Alliance for Rural Community Health (ARCH). ARCH and Browsersoft have been developing the Open Source SHARE project to enable the electronic indexing of patients and the exchange of records within and between clinics and hospitals in Mendocino County, California.

The NHII Framework makes it clear that to get the maximum benefits from Electronic Health Records (EHR), the ability to exchange these records in a patient-directed and secure way is required not only within all counties, but also between all medical practices across the nation.

Our hope is that everyone who shares our vision of an open source solution to the challenge of a Health Records Exchange will join our "coalition of the willing", and together we will deliver on the promise of an Open Source Health Records Exchange.

Yes! Click on "Downloads" in the Main Menu, and then click on "Software" to access the link to our Sourceforge site. From this site you can download the software, access CVS, submit to the support or developer forums, report bugs, and request new features.

But, this is only a small start. There is still a lot of work to do. We are in the process of developing Use Cases, and we request your participation. Please click on "Discussions" in the Main Menu, and join in the review of the Use Cases that we have so far, or click on "Submit News" to submit a Use Case of your own.

If you would like to develop one of the pieces of OpenHRE, or if you know of sources for funding, let us know. We will be glad to work with you!

Our basic philosophy is to incorporate other FOSS, but not to fork. If we think that changes are needed to other FOSS projects that we are using, our first strategy will be to work with those projects to incorporate the changes that we need. We may even develop these changes ourselves and then submit them to the project in question.

On the other hand, our users have requested that we provide a complete, one-stop solution. This means that our download will include everything needed to install and run our MPI/HRE. Jar files, or the equivalent, from other projects will be included in our download. When the projects that we are using release new versions, it is our intent to test the new versions within the context of our project, and release new versions of our project that include the new versions of the included projects.

Projects that we are currently evaluating include jEngine, Febrl, OpenEMed, and the UCLA DataServer, along with Kerberos, and Apache Tomcat and Cocoon. This list will undoubtedly grow.

When you follow the links to download the OpenHRE software you will be redirected to the OpenHRE site at sourceforge.net. At this site you will find a Help forum, a place to browse and submit bugs, and the ability to send email to the OpenHRE administration and developers. Please make use of these facilities if you are having any problems.

Fee-based support is also available from Browsersoft Inc., please call 913-851-2453.