OpenMRS joins Open Source Initiative as Affiliate Member

Partnership highlights core values of both organizations in ensuring access to all members within communities.

The Open Source Initiative ® (OSI), recognized globally for their work in promoting and protecting open source software and development communities, announced today the Affiliate Membership of OpenMRS®, a free and open source health IT platform.

The OpenMRS community works around the world to bring high-quality open source healthcare information systems to everyone. It creates both a modular software platform that allows individuals, organizations, and countries to customize the software to their specific needs; mobile applications to interact with the system in rural areas; and reference “distributions” that can be used as starting points to design systems to meet the needs of various types of health care delivery. OpenMRS software is based on the principle that information should be stored in a way which makes it easy to summarize, analyze, and securely share with other Health IT systems.

“We are delighted to have the OpenMRS project join us as an affiliate member,” said Leslie Hawthorn, OSI Board Director. “Their dedication to improving lives through open source medical records software not only supports the mission of the OSI, it makes the world a better place for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.”

The OSI Affiliate Member Program allows any non-profit community, organization or institution—unequivocally independent groups with a clear commitment to open source—to join the OSI in support of it’s mission to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open source community. The current OSI Affiliate membership is a who’s-who of the world of open source software.

“Over the last decade, the OpenMRS community has become a believer in open source — both its licensing and its collaborative spirit,” said Paul Biondich, OpenMRS Project Leader. “Open source is a way to empower people around the world to make life better for themselves and for their communities. We believe that the poor should have an equal opportunity to live healthy lives, and open source is a way for them to access technology critical to today’s health care systems. For those reasons, we deeply support the mission of the OSI, and are eager to lend our voices to its direction to ensure the long-term success of open source.”

One of the most important activities of the OSI is as an internationally recognized standards body, maintaining the Open Source Definition for the good of the community. The Open Source Initiative Approved License trademark and program creates a nexus of trust around which developers, users, corporations and governments can organize open source cooperation. The growing number of Affiliate Members highlight both the value of the OSI’s work and acknowledgement of the OSI’s authority in open source licensing.

About OpenMRS

OpenMRS started in 2004 as a open source medical record system for developing countries. A volunteer organization, its community nurtures a growing worldwide network of individuals and organizations all focused on creating medical record systems and an implementation network to allow system development self reliance within resource constrained environments. Since launching in a single clinic in Kenya, OpenMRS has been implemented throughout the world, including places like South Africa, Philippines, Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many more. For more information, visit http://openmrs.org/.

About the Open Source Initiative

Founded in 1998, the Open Source Initiative protects and promotes open source by providing a foundation for community success. It champions open source in society through education, infrastructure and collaboration. The (OSI) is a California public benefit corporation, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. For more information about the OSI, or to learn how to become an affiliate, please visit: http://opensource.org/.

Media Contact
Ed Schauweker
ed@agilepr.net