What's holding open source health back?

Some argue that the bureaucracy in the healthcare system in the United States along with the advantages of proprietary health IT systems are the two leading factors that hold open source back from gaining grounds within the US. It is clear that there is validity to this argument. However, personally I don't think these are the only two factors.

Another factor that is essential for the success of the open source community is its strength and size. There are many disunited open source health offerings available, which devalues the power of open source. These communities must come together to provide the security and strength that healthcare providers are looking for with IT communities.

This does not mean that all open source health communities must adopt the same software, but rather there needs to be a more collaborative communication portal set up that houses all that there is to offer for open source health systems. Each software offering can still be unique, but the problem currently is that there is too much disconnect on the Internet with the open source health community. It is difficult to know what is out there. Even searching for hours on the Internet can lead you to still feel uninformed about what actually exists, what's the best for certain healthcare providers, etc. Therefore, at least having a common portal can provide a unified platform for open source health communities to easily and conveniently demonstrate their offerings to healthcare providers. These providers do not want to spend hours trying to decipher what is the best health care solution. Perhaps, this is why many proprietary softwares are chosen, simply for convenience sake. However, if healthcare providers could go to an "open source healthcare portal" and view what is offered, this would provide a more convenient means for healthcare providers to begin to consider open source health systems more often.

The unification of the open source health communities could provide an endless amount of opportunities and benefits for the open source health movement. First, it would provide a larger, more robust community, which always is the key to the success of open source. The larger and more varied the community base, the better the code and service offerings. Also, as stated earlier, a central portal provides convenience for healthcare providers. It is a "one-stop-shop" for them. This is what they want, especially with the immediate push for healthcare providers in the US to adopt IT solutions now. A third benefit for a central unified portal is clearly presented the open source health movement as a unified front. There is truly strength in numbers with regards to open source, and the more that are there the better.

Perhaps, my proposal is too naive for the open source health movement. However, it appears to be the fundamental element in the success of open source health communities. It will only be when the communities are unified that the bureaucracy and edge of proprietary vendors can be truly matched. The unified front will enable a stronger, more cohesive unit to compete with large proprietary vendors and bureaucracies.