Main Page

The OpenEMR Documentation Wiki

Overview of OpenEMR

• Frequently Asked Questions go here.
• The OpenEMR project website can be found at open-emr.org.
• The OEMR 501(c)(3) organization formed to promote and advance OpenEMR can be found at OEMR.ORG
  • Note: the original non-profit organization OSMS (Open Source Medical Software) was unable to get 501(c)(3) status. A new more focused organization was created and has been granted full 501(c)(3) charitable status by the IRS effective July 14 2010. All donations are tax deductible. Thanks to Greg Neuman Law Firm for their assistance.
• Have a question to ask?

• Ask Here at the official OpenEMR forums.
• Or try our new IRC channel at #openemr

• The Roadmap tries to define what direction this project is going in the future.
• See : Taking medical records into the digital age - Great Article on IBM DeveloperWorks Blog

Complete Ambulatory EHR Certification

This Complete EHR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ATCB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

• Information on how eligible provider should register can be found here: http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/20_RegistrationandAttestation.asp

After being tested in the ICSA Labs ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 EHR Certification Program, OpenEMR 4.1 attained Complete Ambulatory EHR Certification, satisfying the requirements for the following criteria per the ONC Approved Test Procedures v1.1:

General Domain Criteria (170.302)

• 170.302 (a) Drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction checks
• 170.302 (b) Drug formulary checks
• 170.302 (c) Maintain up-to-date problem list
• 170.302 (d) Maintain active medication list
• 170.302 (e) Maintain active medication allergy list
• 170.302 (f) Record and chart vital signs (1. Vital signs, 2. BMI, and 3. Growth charts)
• 170.302 (g) Smoking status
• 170.302 (h) incorporate laboratory test results
• 170.302 (i) Generate patient lists
• 170.302 (j) Medication reconciliation
• 170.302 (k) Submission to immunization registries
• 170.302 (l) Public health surveillance
• 170.302 (m) Patient specific education resources
• 170.302 (n) Automated measure calculation
• 170.302 (o) Access control
• 170.302 (p) Emergency access
• 170.302 (q) Automatic log-off
• 170.302 (r) Audit log
• 170.302 (s) Integrity
• 170.302 (t) Authentication
• 170.302 (u) General encryption
• 170.302 (v) Encryption when exchanging electronic health information
• 170.302 (w) Accounting of disclosures (optional)

Ambulatory Domain Criteria (170.304)

• 170.304 (a) Computerized provider order entry
• 170.304 (b) Electronic prescribing
• 170.304 (c) Record demographics
• 170.304 (d) Patient reminders
• 170.304 (e) Clinical decision support
• 170.304 (f) Electronic copy of health information
• 170.304 (g) Timely accesses
• 170.304 (h) Clinical summaries
• 170.304 (i) Exchange clinical information and patient summary record
• 170.304 (j) Calculate and submit clinical quality measures

• NQF 0013 Hypertension: Blood Pressure Measurement
• NQF 0024 Youth Weight Assessment
• NQF 0028 Preventive Care: Tobacco Use Assessment and Cessation
• NQF 0038 Childhood Immunization Status
• NQF 0041 Influenza Immunization
• NQF 0043 Pneumonia Vaccination
• NQF 0059 Diabetes Control: Hemoglobin A1C >9.0%
• NQF 0064 Diabetes Control: LDL < 100mg/dl
• NQF 0421 Adult Weight Screening

Certification for OpenEMR 4.1 was officially achieved on August 19th, 2011.

See this page for details: OpenEMR 4.1 ONC Complete Ambulatory EHR Certification

Commercial and Professional Support

The OEMR.ORG and OpenEMR project are pleased to get contributions to the project from many of the the following vendors and individuals who offer their services supporting, installing, hosting and customizing OpenEMR. Please support these vendors with your patronage.

Commercial Help: Professional OpenEMR installation and support

Demos

Official Demos

• OpenEMR Version 4.1.0 Demo -- This demo is of the current stable release of OpenEMR. (note that the official demo with sample data will be released soon)
• OpenEMR Version 4.0.0 Demo -- This demo is the previous stable release of OpenEMR.

Development Demos

• OpenEMR Version 4.2.x Development Demo -- This demo is of the newest development version of OpenEMR, and may contain features known not to work yet.
• OpenEMR Version 4.1.x Development Demo -- This demo is of the current stable release of OpenEMR with latest patch applied (there is no sample data).
• OpenEMR Version 4.0.x Development Demo -- This demo is of the previous stable release of OpenEMR with latest patch applied (there is no sample data).

Downloads

• OpenEMR Downloads : This is the main OpenEMR download page.
• Patches : Most recent patch for OpenEMR versions 4.0.0, 3.2.0, and 3.1.0 can be found here.
• Contributed Forms : A new place for contributed forms to be shared

Installation and Upgrade Manuals

• OpenEMR Install Howtos
• OpenEMR Upgrade Howtos
• Obsolete Install Howtos: These are installation documents that cover packages (php-Gacl,Sql-Ledger, and Freeb) that have all been obsolete since OpenEMR 3.0.0 .
• Windows Installer

Configuration Manuals

• Backup - Backup Tools: Backup Methods and Scripts in OpenEMR - Protecting Your Data
• Database - Database Conversion Tools: Changing Data For Use in OpenEMR
• Find - Search HowTos: Finding Things in OpenEMR - The Various Search Methods Used
• Forms - Form Creation Tools: Tools for editing existing forms, and creating new forms in OpenEMR.
• Language Translation Configuration: OpenEMR has a thriving translation community with languages already available. If you have an interest in translating OpenEMR into your native language, please let us know.
• Layout Selection: OpenEMR now has three visual layouts to choose from. These instruction show how to configure this along with comparison screenshots.
• Patient Statement Printing/Configuration Howtos
• SSL Install Howtos
• UTF-8 Upgrade Howto

Configuring Modules

• Billing - Billing Setup Howtos: How To Configure and Use OpenEMR For Billing
• Calendar - Using The Calendar As A Tool: Using The Calendar As A Tool in OpenEMR
• Pharmacy Dispensary Module Configuration
• Sms/Email Notification Howtos

User Manuals

• 4.0 User Manual (in development)
• OpenEMR 3.2 Users Guide in PDF
• OpenEMR 3.1 Users Guide in PDF
• OpenEMR 3.0 Users Guide in PDF
• 2.8.0 User Manual
• CAMOS module: CAMOS (Computer Aided Medical Ordering System) is, on the surface, just a fancy interface for organizing and choosing pieces of text to insert into a patient's chart. It is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. It can be turned on in OpenEMR via the admin->forms menu.
• Cross Reference of Radio Button Menu and Tree View
• Pharmacy Dispensary
• Simple Note Templates
• Credit Card Processing Inside OpenEMR
• Clinical Decision Rules
• Patient Portal
• Import RxNorm and SNOMED Tables
• Previews of Forms Distributed with OpenEMR

Feature Requests and Active Projects

• Feature Requests: New Feature Requests.
• Active Projects: Listing of currently active projects.

Developer Manuals

Main

• Information For New Developers: If you are a developer looking to contribute to the project, check this page for details on how to get started.
• Policies for Developers: Agreed upon policies developers must observe (or provide a good reason not to).
• Language Translation Development: A HOWTO on helping with translation of OpenEMR in your native language.
• Typical Work Flow in a Medical Clinic: A guide for developers who need to improve their knowledge of the work flow in an ambulatory clinic
• Architecture Overview: Overview of OpenEMR's system architecture.
• Automated Testing: OpenEMR has an automated test suite designed to help ensure that the code does what it's supposed to and that new features do not break existing features.
• How to Document Code: A guide for developers to document their code properly.
• PhpXref: For those of you familiar with PhpXref, here is a parsed copy of 4.0.0. It needs more documentation

Repository

• Our git Repository structure, work flow, and developer roles: This describes our current git repository structure, work flow, and current developer/contributor roles.
• git For Dummies: This is a quick, practical OpenEMR walk through with the goal of getting new developers up and working with git as quick as possible.
• Using Git with OpenEMR: Example workflow for preparing patches for OpenEMR with Git.
• Git Migration: Documentation of the migration from the cvs repository to the git repository.

Modules and Modular Interfaces

• The Forms API: an interface for adding additional encounter and non-encounter based forms.
• Lists and Layouts: built-in List editing, and simple form layout editor.
• Sending Email: Preferred mechanism of sending email(s).
• Prescribing Module: Walk-through of the prescribing module.
• Code Types: Explains the current scheme for containing code types (such as ICD9, CPT) etc.

Development Guides

• Smarty: Using OpenEMR's embedded Smarty templating engine.
• LBV_Forms: Creating Layout Based forms
• OpenEMR_Xml_Form_Generator : XML based forms (generates php)
• Image Based Forms: Using MI2's new image based forms interface. IN PROGRESS, NOT YET IN TREE!

Embedded Components

• Jquery: a javascript toolkit, that makes writing javascript easier.
• PhpGacl: OpenEMR's embedded php-GACL (access controls).
• PhpMyAdmin: OpenEMR's embedded phpMyAdmin (database administration tool).

File Formats Used

• X12 837p Reference: A reference for the X12 billing files OpenEMR generates.

Release Process

• Steps for an official release: Documented the steps for an official full release.
• OpenEMR Copyright Notice: Contributors (testers, bug fixers, developers, etc.) can enter their information here if they want to by included in the Copyright Notice.
• New Features in Each Release: New features in each release (starting from version 4.0).
• Status of an ongoing new release process: Listing of active bugs and planned features with status for an ongoing release.

Package Development

• Appliance Developers Page: Page for Appliance development.
• Ubuntu-Debian Package Developers Page: Page for ubuntu-debian package development.
• Windows Installer

Troubleshooting

• Common Installation Problems -- problems people have experienced installing OpenEMR, and (hopefully) their solutions.

Virtual Appliances

• Virtual Appliances Overview
• OpenEMR 4.0.0 Virtual Appliance
• OpenEMR Developer Virtual Appliance: Only for OpenEMR Developers and Testers; configures with most current development version of OpenEMR.
• Appliance Developers Page: Page for Appliance development.

Documents on the Web

• OpenEMR on Wikipedia
• Technical Aspects of OpenEMR. Julia Weatherby
• OpenEMR Architecture. T. Simbini
• The OpenEMR Community. Margaret Donahue
• Open Source Electronic Health Records: In Public Policy. Bob Hoyt
• Open Source Electronic Health Records: in Practice. Bob Hoyt

Open Source Medical Software

Open Source Medical Software is a not-for-profit company whose charter is to support all forms of FLOSS EHR/EMR and Health care related software projects. Most of the current effort has been focused on oemr.org and the OpenEMR project.

• About Open Source Medical Software
• Open Source Medical Software Board of Directors
• Open Source Bylaws
• OpenEMR Funding and Donations for Open Source Medical Software
• Contact Information

OEMR a 501(c)(3)

• OEMR - a non project 501(c)(3) organization whose charter is to guide and support the development of the OpenEMR project.
• Why use OpenEMR
• Fundraising - Essay and Needs
• OEMRFundraising - Details and Membership
• OEMR Official Documents
• OEMR Board Meeting Minutes - Official Minutes, Nominations and Lists of current members

Building Awareness of OpenEMR

• OSCON Presentation by Tony and Sam

• Dr Sam Bowen and Tony McCormick were speakers at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland. I have attached the presentation.
• Slide Show PDF + notes, Taking OpenEMR, a GPL EMR to ARRA Meaningful Use Certification and beyond Presentation:

• File:OpenEMR-MUCert.pdf

• It was recorded for video and is available on YouTube:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxd-ZJuiCEk

• Blog Posts:

• Day One: http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/07/day-one-of-the-health-care-it.html
• Day Two: http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/07/vista-scenarios-and-other-cont.html
• Wrap Up: http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/07/wrap-up-of-the-health-care-it.html

• POSSCON Videos of a speech Dr Sam Bowen and Tony McCormick presented at a South Carolina Open Source Convention.

• http://www.posscon.org/dr-sam-bowen/

Other Affiliated Projects

• International Planned Parenthood Foundation
• Liberty Health Software Foundation http://www.libertyhsf.org/
• Tomorrow's Bread Today http://www.tbt.org
• Patient Physician Cooperatives http://www.patientphysiciancoop.com
• Women's Health Services of Sante Fe, New Mexico (it is not clear whether this are still an active project)

Wiki Instructions

Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.

• Configuration settings list
• MediaWiki FAQ
• MediaWiki release mailing list
• Help - Formatting tips and other user assistance