OSEHRA Launches Code Repository & Certification Process

The Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent (OSEHRA), a non-profit foundation recently created to continue the development of the VA's VistA software using an open source collaborative development model, announced today the launching of its Code Repository and Software Quality Certification Process.  The establishment of this repository and certification process is a major step towards providing the tools that will enable users, developers, and researchers to engage with and advance electronic health record technology.

OSEHRA’s Code Repository contains an open source copy of the VistA code base that was contributed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA helped launch OSEHRA in order to foster increased innovation in EHR technology.

The ultimate objective of the Software Quality Certification is to verify that all executable artifacts managed by OSEHRA are safe, compliant, and functional. A detailed description of OSEHRA software quality certification can be found in the Software Quality Certification Plan (http://www.osehra.org/drupal_commons/page/plans-and-white- papers) at OSEHRA.org.

Dr. Seong K. Mun, Ph.D., Acting OSEHRA President, and CEO emphasized today that the repository and software quality certification process "define the concrete steps necessary for a user of the Open Source EHR to contribute code back into the open source system,” Dr. Mun emphasized that this is "the first step towards true innovation and modernization of the VistA codebase." 

Dr. Mun will host a 45-minute webinar on October 19, 2011, at 11:00AM EDT, titled “OSEHRA: Open for Business” where he will provide a progress report on OSEHRA activities, discuss the strategic direction of the organization and encourage community participation. The link to the webinar is here. 

For more details on the launching of the Software Quality Certification see the Press Release.