Category Archives: GNU solidario

My trip to Haiti, the land of the free and the brave

12 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in GNU Health, GNU solidario, Social Medicine, tuberculosis

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I am coming back from my trip to Haiti.
I was invited by our GNU Health representative in Haiti, Augustin Pierre Michel.
gnuhealth_shirt_haiti

Handmade GNU Health shirt from Haiti

Haiti is a country of  brave men and women who stand strong fighting for their dignity.
A friend of mine from Jamaica told me once to dig into the history of Haiti, and the importance it had  in the freedom of human kind.
I found particularly captivating the  article “Our debt to Haiti”, from Sir Hilary Beckles[1]. A passage from that article:

This is what happened exactly 200 years ago: Jamaica is bursting at the seams with 300,000 enslaved Africans. Haiti is the only true land of the free and the brave, having defeated in battle the enslavers of France, Britain, and Spain before becoming in 1804 the first free state in the western world.

President Jean-Jacques Dessalines, enshrined within the 1805 national constitution, the most humane and politically powerful provision: Any enslaved person of African descent who arrives on the shores of Haiti is automatically freed and a citizen of Haiti.

Quick digression.. After reading this article, I would love Mr. Jean-Jaques Dessalines to reincarnate and to sit down with all the politicians that want to build walls of shame, and give them a lesson of humanity and ethics.
Two hundred years afterwards, over 40 million women, men and children are victims of modern slavery[2]. The modern world has slavery, slave owners and  “human properties” . Just look at what is happening in the Mediterranean and how migrants are abused and raped in Libya concentration camps. Another way of slavering is how children are used in clothing factories in Bangladesh, that make billionaires in Europe. Appalling.
The Freedom passage
Going back to the history of Haiti …
The Freedom passage named the 170 miles that separated those 300,000 slaves from freedom. The distance between Jamaica and Haiti.
Thousands of women, men and children would risk their live to reach freedom. Similiar to those who do it daily trying to cross the Mediterranean sea in Europe or the Rio Grande in America.
GNU Health mission in Haiti
Back to Haiti… I stayed at Hopital Bon Samaritain (HBS) in the city of Limbé, where we shared time with the colleagues at the hospital. The health institution not only serves as the reference hospital in the region, but also, as a orphanage. The work they do in the areas of Social Medicine is amazing.
clinique-tuberculose-bon-samaritain-limbe-haiti

Tuberculosis clinic in Hopital Bon Samaritain (2019 CC BY-SA 4.0 Luis Falcon)

The kids at the HPS orphanage receive education, health and psychological support, as well as food and accommodation throughout the year. It was great sharing time, breakfast, lunch and dinner with them !
htal_bon_samaritain_limbe_haiti

Michel and team from Bon Samaritain Hospital in Limbé, Haiti

like_to_give_lovin_orpahage_hbs_limbe

Drawing by child at HBS orphanage (2019 CC BY-SA 4.0 Luis Falcon)

We also got to visit other health institutions in the area interested in implementing GNU Health.
The world can not turn its back on Haiti
Yes. Today Haiti is a impoverish country with civil unrest, and the world is turning the back on Haiti. Haiti exists and we must cooperate with its brave men and women of to bring back dignity to that beautiful country.
lady-cape-haitien-1

Lady in Cape Haitian . (2019 CC BY-SA 4.0 Luis Falcon)

Since the moment I put a foot in Cape Haitien, I felt the warmth of their people. Their noble smile and their genuine gestures of hospitality from Michel, his mom and the rest of the Haitian colleagues.
Michel is an example of resilience. Not only he is a great computer engineer, but he represents commitment and congruence. He decided to stay in Haiti, and fight for the much needed freedom, prosperity and peace in his country.
I am honored to have Michel Pierre as our GNU Health ambassador in Haiti, and looking forward to many implementations in the country. It has been an experience that I cannot describe with words. You must see for yourself to understand the situation in Haiti.
And yes, I agree with Sir Hilary Beckles, we, the rest of the World are in debt with Haiti. Is now our time to cooperate with our Haitians brothers and sisters, when they need us most.
References / Further reading:

AIIMS adopts GNU Health

01 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in free software, GNU Health, GNU solidario, Hospital Information System, medicine, public health, Uncategorized

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A new chapter in Public Health begins. The largest public hospital in Asia, and leading research institution has adopted GNU Health.
Group picture of AIIMS IT personnel and Luis Falcon
It has been a pleasure to meet in person the IT director Dr. Shariff and the rest of the team, that made me feel at home during my visit to the AIIMS in Delhi.
AIIMS is the largest public health institution in India and in all Asia.
During my stay, we had time to visit the facility, the infrastructure and give an initial training to the local team. The GNU Health implementation will be lead by them, and I am very happy to see that. Building local capacity is key for a large project like this.
GNU Health Federation - HMIS node
Thank you All India Institute of Medical Sciences for choosing Freedom and equity in healthcare !
AIIMS-memento-luis_falcon
I will always remember Dr. Shariff email on Febraury 2018. That mail started all. Thank you, and your team, for choosing GNU Health. Thank you for your hospitality in India, for  making me feel at home during my stay, and for all the beautiful presents I will always keep.
aiims_presents_gnu_health
The world needs more Social Medicine, and AIIMS has given another huge step forward in that direction.  We wish AIIMS all the best and, for now, we  give you a warm welcome our international GH Community !

GNU Health wins FSF Project of Social Benefit

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in award, developing countries, ehealth, free software, Free Software Foundation, fsf, GNU Health, GNU solidario, Hospital Information System, public health, UMass

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Just got back to Buenos Aires after a 10 days in the United States and El Salvador, and finally got some time to write about the award, what it means to GNU Solidario and to the community at large.
The FSF’s ceremony took place at the University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMass) on Sunday March 25th, during the LibrePlanet 2012 conference. On the ceremony, there were two awards :
  • Award for the Advancement of Free Software:Yukihiro Matsumoto, creator of the Ruby Programming Language. Congratulations Matz !
  • Award for the Project of Social Benefit : GNU Health
Richard Stallman and Luis Falcon
As stated by the FSF, the Award for Projects of Social Benefit is presented to the project or team responsible for applying free software, or the ideas of the free software movement, in a project that intentionally and significantly benefits society in other aspects of life. This award stresses the use of free software in the service of humanity.

GNU Health won award for Project of Social Benefit 2011
I want to thank the committee for choosing GNU Health : Suresh Ramasubramanian, Peter H. Salus, Wietse Venema, Raj Mathur, Hong Feng, Andrew Tridgell, Jonas Oberg, Vernor Vinge, Richard Stallman, Fernanda G. Weiden, Harald Welte, and Rob Savoyes.

Luis Falcon holding the award and the mascot


We take this award with great pride, but also with great responsibility. We share this award with novel previous winners  Wikipedia, Creative Commons, Internet Archives, Groklaw, Tor and Sahana Disaster Management System .

I see Free Software as social activism. GNU Health goal is to improve the lives of the underprivileged by means of Free Software.  We deliver a Free Health and Hospital Information System to health centers all around the world. Because is Free (Freedom), the software belongs to them. They can modify it, improve it, and localize it to their needs ! This is the Free Software philosophy.

GNU Health provides the basis for sustainable and universal medicine, no matter the economical status of the health center or the patient. After all, Health is a non-negotiable human right and never should belong to the greedy corporations. Health is a public good, and so it should be health informatics.

Yukihiro Matsumoto “Matz” and Luis Falcon
I want to thank the Free Software Foundation and his creator, Richard Stallman, for creating the environment for social justice and equity. 
Thank you to the Free Software community : Python, Postgresql, Tryton, GNU/Linux, GnuPG and Wikimedia foundation are just some of the building blocks for GNU Health. Without a free software community, GNU Health wouldn’t exist.
Thank you to the governments adopting Free Software as a Public good.
Thank you to the community, to all of you who contribute your time and talent to improve GNU Health !
Finally, I want to dedicate this award to the men and women who anonymously give their lives to help the underprivileged. You are an example for all of us !
For more information, please check the official announcement at the Free Software Foundation  : 
About GNU Health

GNU Health is a free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality : 

  •     Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
  •     Hospital Information System (HIS)
  •     Health Information System

GNU Health is an official GNU Package , chosen by Richard Stallman, and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health. 

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :

    European Commission (EU) , JoinUp

    Brazil: Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB)


GNU Health MDG 6 and NTDs

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in AIDS, Chagas, Dengue, developing countries, free software, fsf, GNU Health, GNU solidario, least developed countries, Malaria, millenium development goals, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis, WHO

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Introduction

The United Nations signed in September 2000 the Millennium Declaration, to fight poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women .

Chaco: El Centro Man...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) has derived from the Millennium declaration and it has 8 goals. MDG 6 focuses on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
On the other hand, there is 1 billion (1,000 million) people living with tropical infectious diseases that could represent the “other diseases” part of the MDG 6. This group is named Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).  These are diseases of the poorest, that makes them socially excluded and stigmatized. 
GNU Solidario believes that Free Software is a key factor to accomplish these goals. GNU Health, the Free Health and Hospital Information System will help the health centers, researches, NGOs and professionals and volunteers to eradicate these devastating diseases.
What are GNU Health MDG 6 and GNU Health NTDs ?

health_mdg6 is a GNU Health module that incorporates the Millennium Development Goal # 6, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 

GNU Health will incorporate the specific functionality to help prevent, diagnose, treat and control each of these devastating diseases.
The health_mdg6 module will maintain the multi-disciplinary approach, providing tools to the social worker, nurse, biochemist, laboratory , pharmacist, epidemiologist and physician, integrating the health professional into the community.
So, for example, upon a new possible case of active Tuberculosis (TB), GNU Health will execute the following actions : Detect and notify the contacts of the patient; Start profilaxis treatment on contacts ; Create a new laboratory order for culture and antibiogram and check for the strain resistance ; verify the DOTS (Direct Observed Treatment Short) on the patient ; Check the stock for the PPD test-kits and do a forecast for the existing anti-tuberculosis medicaments; Check for availability of special rooms if there is need for hospitalization; inform the health authorities of a new case; start a new prevention campaign.
The health_ntd will cover the Neglected Tropical Diseases.
What diseases will cover GNU Health MDG 6 and NTD?

health_mdg6. The diseases stated in first part the WHO MDG 6: 
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Malaria
  • Tuberculosis
health_ntds. Neglected Tropical diseases that affect 1 billion (1000 million) people. Diseases are dynamic by nature, so the list can include emerging diseases at any time, but the initial list will contain :

  • Guinea Worm
  • Lymphatic Filariasis
  • Blinding Trachoma
  • Sleeping Sickness
  • Leprosy
  • Soil Transmitted-Helminths
  • Schistosomiasis
  • River Blindness
  • Chagas
  • Visceral Leishmaniasis
  • Dengue
About GNU Health

GNU Health is a free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality : 

  •     Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
  •     Hospital Information System (HIS)
  •     Health Information System

GNU Health is an official GNU Package , chosen by Richard Stallman, and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health. 

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :

    European Commission (EU) , JoinUp

    Brazil: Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB)

GNU Health Reporting

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in ehealth, emerging economies, free software, gnu, GNU Health, GNU solidario, HIS, Hospital Information System, LibreOffice, QR code, relatorio, reporting, tryton

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In the last blog I talked about the QR codes integration in GNU Health.
Today I am very happy to  show a couple of reports from GNU Health, done in the Tryton (Relatorio and Libre Office) framework.
In GNU Health you can generate complex dynamic reports. In the next two examples, the patient and newborn information is displayed. Some of the information is encoded in the QR code.

Patient ID card report on GNU Health

Tryton allows you to create dynamic LibreOffice reports, and these two examples show how we can embed functions, real-time graphics or change the font color depending on the gender of the patient, to name a few capabilities of this great environment.
Newborn wristband Identification, with all the information encoded in QR

We show again how Free Software (Tryton, Libre Office, Python, Postgresql, GNU/Linux, … ) allow us doing anything we need. So, please use Free software. It’s ethical.  

We fight for equity in Health care, and one way of doing so is by using Free Software !

About GNU Health

GNU Health is a free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality :

  •     Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
  •     Hospital Information System (HIS)
  •     Health Information System

GNU Health is an official GNU Package , chosen by Richard Stallman, and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health.

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :

    European Commission (EU) , JoinUp

    Brazil: Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB)

QR codes in GNU Health

03 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in developing countries, ehealth, free software, gnu, GNU Health, GNU solidario, gnuhealth, Hospital Information System, QR codes

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QR (Quick Response) codes are great, versatile matrix-encoded graphs. Unlike traditional bar codes, they allow to store a lot more information and can be read from most mobile devices.
GNU Health, the Free Health and Hospital Information System now supports QR codes, which will have many uses. To name a few :

  • Patient identification
  • Newborn identification and wristband
  • Electronic prescriptions
  • Health promotion and disease prevention
  • Health center Inventory control
So, anyone with a camera enabled tablet, game console or cell phone can read QR codes. This generates a great scenario for Health promotion. 
We now can have posters in health centers or schools , providing the guidelines for prevention of obesity, diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV, teenage pregnancy, etcetera, all of them with  the proper links with the proper links  so they can be read at home. They can be shared among friends or social networks.
Here is a small demo that you can scan with your favorite QR reader. 
In GNU Health, we have found that all the items enumerated above will help all parties. From the social worker, the health professional, the patient, the families and the ministry of health.
Example on how GNU Health encodes newborn information using QR codes 
There are many applications in the social and medical fields that we can encode in this format, so please give us your feedback and we’ll be happy to incorporate it !
We fight for equality in health care, and incorporating QR codes into GNU Health is just one more step forward.
About GNU Health
GNU Health is a free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality :

  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

  • Hospital Information System (HIS)
  • Health Information System


GNU Health is an official GNU Package and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health. 

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :
  • European Commission (EU) , OSOR

  • Brazil: Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB)

IWEEE 2012 Granada : Commitment

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in developing countries, ehealth, free software, fsf, gnu, GNU Health, GNU solidario, health, IWEEE, software libre

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The International Workshop on e-health in Emerging Economies (IWEEE) keeps getting better on each edition ! This time we celebrated it during the days 11th and 12th of January in Granada, Spain.
IWEEE is organized by GNU Solidario, and it has become the central point to discuss  Free Software in Health . 
As our friend Cesar Brod mentioned, IWEEE 2012 has been the most successful and collaborative of all. Two days of very interesting presentations and a very productive round table.
In this two-days event, we had been honored by the delegates of the following institutions :
  • United Nations University (UNU)
  • Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
  • United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
  • Government of Brazil
  • Government of Paraguay
  • International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA)
  • European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI)
  • Free Software Community : Brodtec, Domatix, FSF, NaN, Nextma and Thymbra
These two days have been very busy, with many great presentations and a fruitful round table, were we have set up goals to achieve in this year 2012, in terms of free software adoption in ehealth, standards, implementations, documentation, mobile integration and interoperability, among others.
Thanks to the United Nations delegates, to Raúl Zambrano from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and to Dr. Salleh, Dr. Syed and Dr. Nurhizam from United Nations University, Institute of Global Health, not only for their active role in their presentations and round table, but for sponsoring the event.
Thank you Inma, Anne, Thang, Manuel and Ludovic from Doctors without Borders. Having MSF among us is very motivating. You are an example to follow inside and outside the field. We all learn a lot from your experience and suggestions !
Team from IWEEE 2012 – Granada
Thank you to the representatives of Latin America governments. Cesar Brod, from the government of Brazil, who has been present since the first edition of IWEEE, and the hosts of IWEEE Brazil for all these years. Thank you all to our friends from the government of Paraguay, to Nicolas Caballero who proposed the IWEEE in Granada, and to Dr. Gamarra, who was the delegate of Paraguay Ministry of Health at the round table. This shows how the South has taken the lead in adopting Free Software.
Ironically, there was nobody from the Andalusian Autonomous Government (Junta de Andalucía). Hopefully next time we’ll have them. It would have been nice to share and discuss with them what is being done in e-health using Free Software.
Thank you Thomas Karopka and Etienne Saliez, also “founding fathers” of IWEEE, whose contribution and participation since the first edition has been key for the increasing success of IWEEE. Thank you Frank Lievens (Medetel) for coming over and for promoting the conference over these years !
Thanks to the Free Software community, represented by Joice Käfer (Brodtec); Albert Cervera (NaN); Carlos Sánchez; Pablo José (FSF);Nacho, Angel and Roberto (Domatix), and Adbrahman from NEXTMA, from Morocco. We need to keep on growing this community to be able to deliver solutions to more institutions and improve the quality of the current eHealth systems. 
Last but not least, thanks to Selene and Cristina, who made sure everything went as planned !
IWEEE has become the reference and meeting point for Free Software in Health, and it’s all thanks to you. Personally, I had a great time in Granada and learned a lot from all of you !

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in IWEEE 2013 . We’ll also wait for our UNU-IIGH and Brazilian friends for specific dates in IWEEE Kuala Lumpur and Brazil for this year. 

We’ll be uploading the pictures from the two days and night. We will also upload the presentations to the IWEEE homepage shortly.

GNU Health en el Instituto de Previsión Social y Ministerio de Salud Pública de Paraguay

29 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in fsf, gnu, GNU solidario, health, IIGH, MSPBS, Naciones Unidas, Paraguay, Salud Pública, UNU

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El sábado regresamos de Paraguay, donde fuimos invitados por el Gabinete Civil de la Presidencia de la República (Nicolás Caballero – Coordinador de Innovación Tecnológica – ) y por el departamento de informática del Instituto de Previsión Social ( Ana Ayala – CIO de la Dirección Informática –  y Rosa González – Líder del departamento informático de Salud – ), para presentar GNU Health , el sistema Libre de Gestión Hospitalaria y de Salud. 
 
Me alegra ver como Paraguay adopta Software Libre en sus sistemas de Salud Pública , en equipo,  desde el Gabinete de la Presidencia, el Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS) y el Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social (MSPBS).
Actualmente Paraguay encara la informática médica como un bien público, inseparable del contexto de Salud Pública. 
En el hospital Dr. Emilio Cubas. El centro de salud más grande de Paraguay

Pasamos dos días en Asunción, visitando las diferentes clínicas  y hospitales, así como en reuniones con los profesionales de la salud y del gobierno. En estas reuniones, Nicolás Caballero nos explicó las resoluciones que el gobierno de Paraguay está tomando para la adopción de software libre en salud pública.


Nicolás Caballero, Julio Perrota, Ana Ayala, Nelson Caballero, Rosa González y la Dra Carmen Frutos

Luis Falcón, Nurhizam Safie, Cristina Melgosa, Rosa González y Ana Ayala 

Después de visitar distintos centros de salud, nos reunimos con el equipo de informática, con quienes discutimos detalles técnicos de GNU Health, como el entorno de programación, seguridad, escalabilidad y reporting. También nos mostraron su centro de datos donde brindan soporte a todo el país.
Explicando detalles técnicos de GNU Health en el  Hospital General
En la clínica Nanawa: Nurhizam Safie, Luis Falcón, Cristina Melgosa, María Victoria Benítez 

El Doctor Nurhizam Safie, de la Universidad de las Naciones Unidas, Instituto Internacional de Salud Global (UNU-IIGH), partner de GNU Solidario, nos mostró implementaciones de GNU Health en Asia, África y Latinoamérica.
Nurhizam enfatizó el compromiso de las UNU – el brazo académico de las Naciones Unidas – con GNU Health y su posible implementación en el sistema de salud pública de Paraguay, como medio de universalidad la salud. Al día de hoy, la Universidad de las Naciones unidas provee capacitación en GNU Health.
Dr. Nurhizam Safie de las Naciones Unidas en su presentación de GNU Health en IPS
Parte del equipo de informática en el hospital central 
Rosa González, líder del departamento de sistemas informáticos de salud, nos llevó a recorrer los distintos centros de salud, y sus departamentos. Entre ellos  : Farmacia, Laboratorio, citas, hospitalización y diagnóstico por imágenes. 
Rosa explicó a su equiopo la licencia GPL ( GNU General Public License), por lo que ellos tienen toda la libertad de usar y parametrizar GNU Health con el fin de adecuarlo a sus necesidades. Recalqué la importancia de trabajar con la comunidad, porque ellos son parte de la comunidad y aportarán valor agregado al proyecto. GNU Health es el resultado del  esfuerzo de equipos multi-disciplinarios y multi-culturales.
En el hospital Geriátrico
Nurhizam, Cristina Melgosa and Rosa González en el salón de entrada del IPS

El viernes al mediodía fuimos invitados por la Dra. Graciela Gamarra, Directora General de Información Estratégica en Salud, del Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social. Julio Galeana nos mostró los desarrollos que ha realizado el ministerio en software libre en epidemiología.
Conversamos sobre la posibilidad de integrar los sistemas actuales con GNU Health, y su enlace con el sistema de epidemiología actual.
Aprovechando para almorzar
Quiero agradecer al Gobierno de Paraguay por su invitación y hospitalidad, en particular a Rosa González, Ana Ayala y Nicolás Caballero, quienes desde IWEEE Brasil mostraron su interés por llevar a cabo esta reunión. Gracias a Juan Carlos Ávalos y el equipo de logística por hacernos sentir como en casa !
Hoy Latinoamércia es un punto de referencia en la adopción de Software Libre en administración  y salud pública, brindando equidad y universalidad en salud a sus habitantes.
Por último, gracias a Richard Stallman, padre del software libre, quien habló del proyecto con Nicolás Caballero en su momento y nos refirió.
 
Acerca de GNU Health
GNU Health es el sistema Gestión Hospitalaria y de Información de salud de Software Libre que ofrece las siguientes funciones : 
  • Expediente Médico Electrónico (EMR)
  • Sistema de Gestión Hospitalaria (HIS)
  • Sistema de Información de Salud (Epidemiología)
GNU Health es parte de GNU Solidario, una ONG que implementa soluciones de Salud y Educación mediante software libre. 
GNU Health es software oficial del sistema GNU, adoptado por Richard Stallman y la Free Software Foundation. Las Naciones Unidas, por medio del Instituto Internacional de Salud Global, capacita y promueve el uso de GNU Health en los países donde tienen presencia. 
Gobiernos con GNU Health en sus Portales
  • Brasil : Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB) 
  • Comunidad Europea : OSOR / JoinUp
Página principal : health.gnu.org

GNU Health at Paraguay Ministry of Public Health

26 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by in fsf, gnu, GNU Health, GNU solidario, HIS, IIGH, IPS, MSPBS, Paraguay, public health, UNU

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I just got back from Paraguay, where we were invited by Mr. Nicolás Caballero from the Paraguayan Government to talk about GNU Health at the Social Security Institute (IPS – Instituto de Previsión Social ) and Ministry of Public Health .

It’s great  to see how Paraguay is adopting Free Software in the Public Health System, working as a team, from the Presidency office, the Social Security Institute (IPS) and the Ministry of Public Health (MSPBS).
I noticed how the government conceives Health informatics as a public good, an integral component  of Public Health.   

At Dr. Emilio Cubas Hospital. The largest health center in Paraguay

We spent two non-stop days in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, visiting the different health centers and having meetings with health officials. In those meetings, Nicolas Caballero explained the latest and concrete resolutions that the Paraguayan government is taking on Free Software adoption in public health care. 

Nicolas Caballero and Social Security Institute (IPS) members

Luis Falcón, Nurhizam Safie, Cristina Melgosa, Rosa González and Ana Ayala (director of Informatics)  from IPS

After visiting the different health centers, we had a meeting with the information system team, with whom we discussed the technical details about GNU Health, such as the programming environment, security, scalability and reporting. 
Explaining technical details about GNU Health at the General Hospital
At Clinica Nanawa

Dr. Nurhizam Safie, from the United Nations University, Institute of Global Health explained the partnership with GNU Solidario, and implementation cases of GNU Health in Asia, Africa and Latinamerica.
Nurhizam stressed the commitment of the UNU – the academic branch of the United Nations – with GNU Health and the implementation in the Paraguayan Public Health system, as a way of delivering universality in health care. Today UNU provides training and capacity building in GNU Health implementations.  

Dr. Nurhizam Safie from United Nations University, talking about the UNU commitment to the project
Part of the Informatics department team at Central Hospital led by Rosa González
Ms. Rosa González, Social Security Institute chief of the informatics department, gave us an extensive tour throughout different health institutions and their departments. Among them: Pharmacy, Laboratory, Appointments, Inpatient administration and Imaging.
Rosa explained to her team that GNU Health is licensed under GPL, the GNU General Public License, so they have all the freedom to use and custumize GNU Health to fit their needs. I stressed the importance of working with the community, so the health informatics team can always ask questions in public forums and share with us their developments and bug fixes. GNU Health is the result of many contributions and feedback  from an international community and multi-disciplinary teams.
At the Geriatric Hospital

Dr Nurhizam, Cristina Melgosa and Rosa González at IPS entrance hall

On Friday afternoon we were invited by Dr. Graciela Gamarra, General Director of Strategic Health Information Systems, from the Health Ministry (Ministerio de Salud Pública y Bienestar Social). They showed us their current epidemiology systems that are being built on Free Software.
We also discussed on integrating all the current systems with GNU Health, and link it to the current epidemiology engine.
Taking a break

I want to thank the government of Paraguay for inviting us and for the hospitality, they made us feel at home.

But most importantly, I want to thank the government of Paraguay for the commitment with Free Software in Public Health. Latin America is today a leader in the adoption of Free Software in public administrations, delivering equity and universality in health care for their habitants.

Last but not least, thanks to Richard Stallman, who referred GNU Health to Nicolás Caballero , chief technology innovation officer of the Presidency office.  Thanks Nicolás for making this possible !

About GNU Health
GNU Health is a free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality :

  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

  • Hospital Information System (HIS)
  • Health Information System


GNU Health is an official GNU Package and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health. 

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :
  • European Commission (EU) , OSOR

  • Brazil: Portal do Software Público Brasileiro (SPB)

GNU Health 1.4.1 released !

29 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by in developing countries, gnu, GNU Health, GNU solidario, HIS, Hospital Information System, public health

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I’m happy to announce the release of GNU Health 1.4.1, in which we have incorporated support for PyPI, the Python Package Index

This version is compatible with the latest tryton release (2.2.0). Now GNU Health is also a set of python modules, fully integrated to the Python community.

Thanks to the magic of pip, and the help of the Tryton community ( Cedric Krier, et al ), installing the latest GNU Health version is as easy as running

pip install –user trytond_health_profile

This will install the requirements ( the tryton server and all the standard GNU Health modules ) automatically and in your “$HOME/.local” directory. I will be updating the installation process at the wiki today.
The main site is the GNU Savannah where all the development and discussion takes place.

There are many improvements, bug fixes and news features, some of them :

  • CalDav compatibility (it allows complex calendar views and settings for appointments and hospitalizations)
  • Support for JSON RPC protocol
  • Fully Tryton 2.2 compatible
  • Enhanced Medication form
  • New Medicament categories
  • Medication pregnancy category
  • Included the latest WHO essential medicines (17th edition)
  • New translation engine (to be used with .po format)
  • Improve Laboratory model and functionality

Thanks to all of you for contributing with your code, testing, translating and documenting the project !


About GNU Health

GNU Health (formerly known as “Medical”) is a free (GPL license), Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality :
  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

  • Hospital Information System (HIS)
  • Health Information System

GNU Health is an official GNU Package and is part of GNU Solidario. GNU Solidario is a NGO that delivers education and health to emerging economies with free software.

GNU Health is the Hospital Information System chosen by the United Nations International Institute of Global Health.

Main site : health.gnu.org

Governments hosting GNU Health through their portals :