"Free" PMS and EMR software

Every few months, I get an e-mail or see a blog post about a new Open Source, "free" EMR or PMS. Usually, the e-mail is entitled something like, "We'd better keep our eyes on this..."

(By the way, I intentionally capitalize Open Source, because, as far as I'm concerned, it's a brand name. Or, if it's not a brand name, it's a movement. Or a religion. Or a political party. Whatever it is, it's a proper noun, and consequently requires capitalization.

For evidence of this, look at the Wikipedia entry for Open Source. As of this writing, it has the disclaimer, "The neutrality of this article is disputed" at the top. Of course it is! It's difficult to write about your religion and stay neutral.)

But I digress. I don't want to rehash the worn-out debate between Open Source and commercial software. That's about as interesting as Microsoft vs. Apple, Microsoft vs. Oracle, and Microsoft vs. Mozilla. The fact is, if Open Source works for your project, then you should use Open Source. If a commercial package meets your needs, use it.

Having spent most of the past 15 years of my career in the medical practice management software arena, I believe there are two broad categories of medical practices:

Open Source		Commercial Software
Sophisticated internal IT staff		Everyone else
Doctors = Technologists
High threshold of pain
Interest in or need for heavy customization
Equal/greater interest in tech innovation vs. treating patients

I honestly can't see where Open Source projects compete with commercial software like AdvancedMD. First of all, AdvancedMD and other SaaS-based software (is there any other kind?) are essentially free. The only up-front cost is for training and implementation. With commercial software, those services are available directly from the vendor, or from their authorized VAR. With Open Source, you'll have to find someone to provide those services, or you're working with a consultant. Either way, they're not free.

The real cost of software comes in the ongoing maintenance and support. With AdvancedMD, you pay a reasonable, fixed monthly cost. The software is maintained by the same team of IT professionals that maintain our other 3,000 customers. Help Desk support is provided by the same team of Support professionals that serve those same 3,000 customers.

If you choose Open Source, someone has to install and maintain the software, and provide end-user support. The software was free...these services are decidedly not.

That's not to say that there is no place for Open Source. There certainly is, and I'm certain that there are dozens if not hundreds of success stories.

The point is that it is very, very easy to determine whether you are a candidate for Open Source PMS and EMR software or not: If you fall in the left side of the above table, you should consider it. If you're one of "everyone else", well, welcome to AdvancedMD. (Sorry, that really was a shameless plug.)