Question

As opposed to the closed infrastructure of most vendor systems, open source systems may allow multiple groups to contribute to the underlying system code and architecture. Describe the positive and negative aspects of this approach for the healthcare organization. Contrast this with the SMART or SMART on FHIR approach.

Answer 1

Closed systems have interactions only within the rigid boundaries of the system which limits exchange of information. Open systems collect information from its environment and produces output back to them. Exchange in information, renewal of existing strategy and reinvention helps to improvise and improve their systems.

SMART has been exposing structured data of patients through open API. It has a simple Web based user interface having data models, fixed vocabularies and a REST API. It uses existing standards that are openly available to the public.

Even though still experimental, SMART on FHIR is trying to make clean, open, friendly specification for patient level data access and options to retrieve documents which are cost effective. SMART on FHIR builds on the SMART aesthetic looks of the data collection procedure and philosophy. Their main aim is providing simple, developer friendly data using their FHIR API Server and FHIR Starter Apps.

Some people are not very keen to give out their medical records and data to third party sources, so the full fledge use of them remain experimental. However, in the future with the rapid advancements of medical science, and technology, the future hold a very positive vision.