> > > Exporting patient files, with the patients details (name, DOB, sex, > Medicare number, etc.) from HCN's software is possible as they can be > exported from the program as a delimited text file (patients.out), but > the patient's billing history, etc. cannot be imported into another > medical practice suite and the database isn't accessible without HCN's > access (logged in with a valid logon).
to me it sounds like what is needed is to transform the exported file into an XML schema which, if done in a meaningful way, could be fairly easily transformed into any desired format - that is, there's probably only a certain amount of different information types to worry about, and each type could be captured with appropriate markup and class definitions.. then it could be imported and/or exported into any db schema with a standardised parser > Now, this type of software is the perfect candidate to be on an open > platform (which some medical practices use Linux to store a flat-file > database on), and with simple google seaches I've found some > open-source Medical Billing/Appointment book practice management > suites, but they were all on 0.x releases and unsuitable for the > Australian medical billing system, with no mention to Medicare. Has > anyone found anything for Australia; I'd be interested in following > the development for a Linux/multiplatform open-source practice > management suite suited to Australia's medical/Medicare standards. I completely agree, and would even go further to day that it is exactly this kind of information that needs to be freed.. but in terms of the software itself, I imagine that this sector is in a particularly lucrative market place. What I mean to say is that given the international climate around medical data (well, ok, the USA's medical system), the goodness and badness of software can really be established in how usable it is for professionals who are anything but IT focused, and in fact are more properly focused on the job at hand - namely, curing illness. If the information is published in open formats, the software itself can compete in each of the localised markets, given the particular laws that are applicable in different countries and different states that may effect various aspects of the system, and there's nothing wrong with that, but what is important, and I mean *really* is important (and I definitely feel in this circumstance more than others), is that transportability of the information itself. An open source product can compete in the market as with any other vendor, and I think many here would advocate such a solution, but really I think it's an open data format that should be higher on the list of priorities for medical information.. this would, needless to say, provide possibilities of exchange between different hospitals and GP practices that can be vendor neutral, and can evaluate the effectiveness of software on it's functional merits rather than the ability of a licensing model to lock in an entire industry to a single solution with extortionate fees. An open source model for the software may benefit from this environment with a properly thought out, probably OO design, but software companies with more focused resources may or may not be able to be more effective in that space, but when it comes to the medical industry's priorities, a focus on patient care, I think, far outways whether some software is GPL'ed or not, as long as the data is available and useable for all those that need to, whether they can afford a particular vendor's fees or not. Pushing such a thing wouldn't be easy, but I think it would be an effort that ultimately would be more fruitful than the advocacy of a particular open source solution in favour of another propriety solution that has the commercial an support resources available to appeal to an industry that would see IT as support and not as core to the business. This doesn't really help you, but I think this sort of information is a prime example of where freedom is very, very important -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
