Re: [PLUG] Fwd: [Health] TUL2014 GNU Health Presentation Schedule

Joe,

You can do VNC through a web browser (I used to do remote training using such a set up) so that was an idea I considered to "bridge the gap" but I haven't seen much request for that from previous or current prospects for Health IT. These folks don't care how its deployed as long as it lets them do their business. Unfortunately, the need is there now and even after the "merging", I would not want to use new technology for this type solution.

From a migration point of view this is fine. Everyone I've come across in the medical field is still using windows on the desktop and server (if there is one). Its already going to be an effort to move from one EMR to another so having a native windows client in lieu of an HTML client is ok initially.

After that, sure, now we have an issue. I can't move the all client interfaces to lighter devices- lower cost / non-windows or other devices like Chromebooks or tablets. That's probably a good thing since it give newer interfaces a chance to mature.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keith C. Perry, MS E.E.

Owner, DAO Technologies LLC

(O) +1.215.525.4165 x2033

(M) +1.215.432.5167

www.daotechnologies.com

From: "rosatoj" <rosatoj@gmail.com>
To: "Philadelphia Linux User's Group Discussion List" <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2014 10:19:08 AM
Subject: Re: [PLUG] Fwd: [Health] TUL2014 GNU Health Presentation Schedule

Just a quick note on apps 'stuck' in X11/desktop mode. Since I have a chromebook there are some (I know of at least one) companies popping up offering the equivalent of apps via VNC like interface for things stuck in the X11/desktop world. Sort of a quick first step back into a sort of server/client mentality. It will probably yo-yo again during the next decade but the push to everything on the internet is creatig this initial steps. I think what will happen is that the guts of the programs will slowly be written so that all needed local stuff is local and all needed 'internet/remote' stuff is added in. The problem now is that apps seem to reside in a one or the other mentality. That will begin merging soon. The VNC stuff is a half step - programs like GIMP (that was one they offered) should not have their mouse coordinates sent to a server, that to me is madness. That will end - but the result will be programs that live in both worlds. All through the browser? Probably, but the code that needs to be local will be local. That is where I think it is all going.

Joe

On Fri Nov 14 2014 at 10:07:11 AM Doug Stewart <zamoose@gmail.com> wrote:

There's a very large blocker for anything health-IT-related in the US, though: the PPACA aka Obamacare. It's my understanding that the EMR diktats written into the law virtually assure that organizations need to use EPIC where said orgs are of any appreciable size. (At the very least, this was the general understanding in the field when I was working at CHOP from '10-'13.)

--
Doug Stewart

On Nov 14, 2014, at 9:52 AM, "Keith C. Perry" <kperry@daotechnologies.com> wrote:

You nailed the general dichotomy here... Native apps many times have better or more mature features but acceptance in the FOSS world is low because HTML5 and other browser technology is more desired- its closer the spirit and philosophy that app interfaces should be as agnostic as possible.

That said, GNU Health uses native X11 and Windows clients because the GNU Health use the Tryton framework. I don't know of any HTML interface currently available but I think that that is ok for a couple of reasons:

1) The best deployment scenario for Health IT organizations (any really anyone dealing with HIPAA information) is client facing interfaces that aren't easily exportable outside the corporate network. This ends up being another layer of security.
2) Nothing is preventing customization or other client interfaces being written in HTML5 interfaces.

I'll concede that #1 is not much of a point. However it is still a point- any security layer gain without actively doing something is a positive in my book. #2 is the important point. One of the two issues with GNU Health is that it has a slant toward Hospital IT and EMR at that level. In the US however, the more critical need for EMR is at the local / community level practice. The common need satisfied by GNU Health in both cases is patient demographics and basic health parameters (weight, height, current ailments of diagnosis). That leads to a second issue- specialties. For example, GNU Health currently does not have specific modules for any ortho or opto related disciplines. That not surprising because US (or "western") patient care is not the target market. The new 2.8 release is suppose to be adding a module that make inroads into supporting more specialties but until its out I don't how it might be used.

One of the studies I've been working on for a perspective client has evolved into looking at this as a two stage project. Basically, GNU-Health can be used to track patient demo (as well as billing) and then subsequent FOSS development can complete requirements for GP's or specialists. In other words GNU Health can provide the basis for FOSS Health IT work. The biggest technical hurdle is getting the data out of current closed source / custom applications.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keith C. Perry, MS E.E.
Owner, DAO Technologies LLC
(O) +1.215.525.4165 x2033
(M) +1.215.432.5167
www.daotechnologies.com

From: "Rich Freeman" <r-plug@thefreemanclan.net>
To: "Philadelphia Linux User's Group Discussion List" <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2014 8:59:22 AM
Subject: Re: [PLUG] Fwd: [Health] TUL2014 GNU Health Presentation Schedule

On Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 8:14 AM, Keith C. Perry
<kperry@daotechnologies.com> wrote:
I figured I would past this along to PLUG since every so often there is a
side conversation about Health IT. Some of you may or may not be aware of
GNU Health which is pretty popular outside of the US (which means there's
opportunities in the US **wink**). The upcoming 2.8 release is going to
include a number of community requested features so this is a good time to
get an intro to the product which Luis has told me should be out this coming
January.

Does it have a web-based client? It looks like it is strictly X11 on
the client side.

Sorry to pick on this - it looks like a great idea (and I see there is
a related LIMS on the agenda), but this is a bit of a pet peeve of
mine. I think adherence to things like GTK/X11/etc for anything other
than building browsers, window managers, media players, and the like
is something that is probably going to start working against FOSS.
Especially for something like medical data there is a lot of reason to
avoid putting anything at all on client workstations, whether that be
code or data. However, it applies just as much to email, office
productivity software, etc. I'd rather not be using Google Docs for
everything but there needs to be an alternative for that to be
possible, and the irony is that Google Docs isn't that hard to beat
feature-wise (Openoffice already far surpasses it, but loses because
you can't run it from a browser).

--
Rich
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___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug

___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug