February 8th, 2008
Misys walks the open source walk
Misys fulfilled a promise today, releasing the code to its Mysis Connect as open source during a conference in Los Angeles.
The code’s importance goes beyond its value to the open source community. As Tim Elwell, the company’s chief open source officer, told ZDNet this week it’s the start of a movement toward connecting all vendors’ files together, transparently.
”We want to help practices connect their EMRs (Electronic Medical Records). Misys’ code can be the glue linking records together,” he said.
The move drew applause from former Medsphere CEO Scott Shreeve, who now blogs at Crossover Health.
“Mysis gets not only a reprieve, but now gets some instant cred within the community,” he wrote, adding that he’ll be looking closely at just how useful the new code is before endorsing it.
In his post Shreeve emphasized the need for transparency in evaluating the promises of open source vendors. He called this an essential element in what he terms the Health 2.0 movement.
For his part, Elwell told ZDNet Misys is risking 16% of its revenue base by foregoing license fees on this code, betting that service and SaaS revenues can make up that difference in time.
By the HIMSS conference later this month, Elwell said, “I’ll show an interface engine, open source components, and a plug-in for obstetrics.”
Elwell said Misys is targeting small medical offices, with fewer than 10 doctors, for a SaaS offering, and community hospitals for its software services.
“We want to demonstrate that documents can be traded over this platform, but it’s not black box work – it’s all open. We’re making that commitment.”
Someone in health care is finally betting the company on open source. Misys hopes it will be a winning bet.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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