Hospitals in the United Kingdom and beyond are showing interest in the patient record system OpenEyes, developed as open source at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, says Bill Aylward, one of the main developers and a consultant ophthalmic surgeon. Earlier this month, OpenEyes was one of the main sponsors of the open source workshops and presentations taking place at the EHI Live 2013 conference in Birmingham, UK.
OpenEyes is a web-based patient records system for ophthalmology, providing clinicians with one place for all the information they need about their patient. The system is an open source project, and has received contributions from hospitals, institutions, academic departments and companies. The solution is designed to be deployed in a range of settings from small ophthalmic units to specialist hospitals.
The OpenEyes patient record system is now in use in all satellites of the Moorfield hospital. It is also used in hospitals in Cardiff and Maidstone, says Aylward. Eye specialists inside and outside the UK are interested, he notes. However, the majority of NHS IT departments are uncomfortable installing and maintaining open source products.
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"This is likely to change as the controlling body for the NHS in England is actively promoting the use of open source products. They mentioned OpenEyes as an exemplar project in their recent call for funding applications 'Safer hospitals, safer wards'."
Aylward and others have started an enterprise to deliver OpenEyes to UK health service providers that are unable to install it themselves. "We also established the OpenEyes Foundation, a not-for profit body whose role is to coordinate development and quality assure releases."
OpenEyes is currently at version 1.5. The system now covers the three major sub-specialties in ophthalmology, cataract, glaucoma, and medical retina. The developers aim to support all areas of ophthalmology.
More information:
OpenEyes at EHI
OpenEyes electronic patient records system
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