NHS tech agency touts use of open source
Kable
Published: 12 Jun 2009 09:21 BST
NHS Connecting for Health is using open source to collaborate with other countries' health services in building specialist informatics software.
Ken Lunn, CfH's director of data standards and products, said the organisation is agnostic towards open-source software, and uses it where it makes sense to do so.
"The market demand for some of the things we are developing is very small," he told a session at GC Live in London on 10 June, 2009, such as medical terminology editing software or messaging that is able to transfer details of medical consultations. In both examples, CfH is helping to develop open-source products.
He added that medical terminology software is also being supported by Canada Health Infoway, a government funded informatics body, the US Veterans' Health Administration and bodies in other countries: "We're beginning to collaborate with with a dozen or more organisations around the world, and that number is growing."
Lunn said that he had previously been involved in negotiating intellectual-property agreements between different countries' health-informatics organisations to develop products, but this was time consuming and of little benefit. "It's not my business to sell software," he said.
However, he said that using open source requires a way to maintain the software, whether through a supplier or competent staff. The software development also requires proper governance, so changes to code are managed.
Lunn added that in other areas, open source is unsuitable. "We use open source where it makes sense," he told the audience. "We will not use open source where there is a better product on the market. For desktops, the cost of ownership is more significant than the cost of procurement."
The argument for open source is more compelling in very small areas, where competition is hard to foster. "If it's a niche market, you can get into a very dependent situation with a supplier," said Lunn. "But there's no right answer."
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