Hi Burke
Thanks for articulating this vision and leadership that is greatly needed at this time for OpenMRS. Jembi very much supports the goal of a convergence around the technical architecture of OpenMRS application framework and distributions to create a shared future that we regard as essential. We will be glad to join forces to realise your vision. We have been speaking about a similar concept for sometime with our implementation partners at Intellisoft, UCSF, ThoughtWorks, the Bahmni Coalition and CDC.
Jembi is developing and implementing both the reference app and Bahmni and envisages a place for both kinds of tool, ie a customisable platform and configurable product. Our implementation sites would like the flexibility to deploy a simple back entry system with forms interface and easy implementation consistent with current clinical workflow. They would also like a smooth and seamless upgrade to a more feature-rich system with a dynamic and real time interface supporting common healthcare functions (reception, clinical consult, lab etc), perhaps according to a defined maturity model. We envisage both kind of application co-existing within a country-level ecosystem and interfacing with a number of other functions and applications.
Our funders would like to see greater application level reuse across implementations addressing similar use cases, eg HIV/TB care with modules supporting common indicator definitions and reports as well as linkages to OpenHIE stacks, DHIS2 etc.
One of the challenges we will need to face is funding for the initial effort and future work on the architecture and application framework. Jembi’s budgets are driven by country implementations that are tightly focussed on the implementation itself. Ideally, we would attract a significant separate tranche of funding for the initial framework development, eg through Digital Square Global Goods, and then have a mechanism to budget more explicitly in implementation budgets for core support and architectural redesign. This may require some re-thinking in terms of the global approach to sustainability and maintenance of these global goods and support from implementations.
Thanks, again, for this initiative and looking forward to working with you and the OpenMRS community to realise the vision.
Kind Regards
Chris Seebregts