Yes, there is FREE EMR software available out there, and one example is VistA. And free means free. There are no strings attached to the free software offer. Extra baggage, yes, but no strings.

What Is VistA?

“Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture” (VistA) is an enterprise EMR application used throughout the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs medical system. Because it was developed by federal employees, it is available for free under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Proprietary versions of VistA are also available (for a fee) from private consultancies who have further developed the architecture and added functional modules. You can run a demo of VistA here, and download your copy of the free FOIA VistA software (including patches, etc.) here.

What’s The Baggage?

VistA uses and is dependent upon the “Massachussetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System” (MUMPS, a/k/a M), which functions as both an operating system and a database, and MUMPS is NOT free. You have to buy it from a vendor. Further, MUMPS was written pre-C, so its syntax and other programming requirements will be unfamiliar to programmers who are versed in the modern programming languages. MUMPS programmers are out there, but their numbers are declining and they are expensive to hire.

Is The Federal Government Pushing Further Private Adoption of VistA? – No. In fact, there have been rumblings over the past two years about moth-balling VistA entirely because of security issues and the goverment’s growing preference to privatize applications like VistA.

Bottom Line – Avoid the temptation of FREE and pass over this option as you consider your EMR options.

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