AATP Interactive

Open Source Software

Two new revisions of open source software have just been released.

OpenEMR and Open Office

The OpenEMR community is dedicated to guarding OpenEMR's status as a free, open source software solution for medical practices. Its members are comprised of software developers, as well as physicians and others with extensive medical and billing knowledge, all with the common goal of making OpenEMR a superior alternative to its proprietary counterparts.

Practice Management features for patient scheduling, patient demographics;

* Electronic Medical Records, creating an on-line record of your encounters
* Customizable encounter templates
* A flexible system of coding including CPT, HCPCS and ICD codes and the ability to add others
* A compact and flexible appointment calendar
* Advanced reporting capabilities
* Prescription writing capability with ability to email or print prescriptions
* ANSI X12 support allowing clinics to send billing claims electronically to payers
* Interfacing to SQL-Ledger (also open source) for advanced accounting features
* Patient statements and collection letters
* Efficient EOB data entry for payments, adjustments, writeoffs, rebilling
* Support for two clearinghouses, ProxyMed and Zirmed, and adaptability to others
* HIPAA compliance
* Browser-based for flexibility, security, easy maintenance and platform independence
* Remotely accessable from any modern web browser with a suitable security certificate installed

Additional information about OpenEMR from Sunset Systems

Open Office 2.0 was just released and it works on all platforms - Windows, Mac and Linux. In this latest version, it truly can compete with MS Office with most of the bells and whistles as well as import and export files to Word or Wordperfect.

Here are some of the features:

What’s in OpenOffice.org? Here are the descriptions from the product page.

WRITER is OpenOffice.org’s word processor: use it for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book with embedded illustrations, cross-references, tables of contents, indexes, bibliographies... Auto-complete, auto-format, and real-time spelling check make light work of the hardest task. Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters, brochures – the only limit is your imagination.

Use CALC to bring your numbers under control. This powerful spreadsheet has all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, summarise, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics. A fully-integrated help system makes entering complex formulas a breeze. Sophisticated decision-making tools are just a few mouse clicks away. Pull in external data using the Data Pilot, and sort it, filter it, and produce subtotals and statistical analyses. Use previews to select from thirteen categories of 2-D and 3-D charts including line, area, column, pie, XY, stock and net with dozens of variants.

IMPRESS is the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will truly stand out with special effects, animation and high-impact drawing tools.

DRAW will produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects.

New to Version 2, BASE enables you to manipulate database data seamlessly within OpenOffice.org. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, either using your own database or Base’s own built-in HSQL database engine.

Writely So!

And just in case you believe that all applicatons will soon move to online and local programs may become a thing of the past, check out the online word processor Writely. Writely is a "thin" client that allows collaboration of multiple users which is great if you are writing an article or finalizing a protocol...and it is free.