Why should I choose an open source EMR?
- User driven and responsive: open source software development is driven by the user community; it is therefore highly responsive to user's need
- Low cost: total cost of ownership of the software and its data is usually dramatically less than proprietary EMR. You may even find that costs are lower in supporting your emr implementation with your own funds using open source, than the costs of implementing EMR with a partial Provincial subsidy to use a proprietary product.
- Sustainability: Costs of proprietary products are expected to dramatically escalate over the next several years as provinces move to narrow the vendor field and increase system requirements. This will create an ever more captive consumer market with proprietary systems and for those whose systems are not compliant with newer standards, it may mean a significant loss of investment and data.
- Proven: OSCAR was the first EMR to pass the latest standards of conformance testing in Ontario. OSCAR is widely used by many satisfied doctors around the country.
- Choice: you have a choice of which vendor will provide your service.
- Freedom: Many users describe their user experience as one of “freedom” at many levels
- Community: if you are interested in contributing to the development of the product and being a member of an engaged user community, open source is for you. If you prefer to quietly use the product and not actively participate in its development, open source is also for you.
