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This article by Phillip Longman explains in layman's terms the grave importance of open source to bring transparency and portability to health care. It is a lengthy read but well worth it for all the strong points it brings to light regarding Obama's health care reform and the current use of open source systems in world health care. My favorite passage is the following: "The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals for safety, recently issued an unprecedented warning that computer technology is now implicated in an incredible 25 percent of all reported medication errors. Perversely, license agreements usually bar users of proprietary health IT systems from reporting dangerous bugs to other health care facilities. In open-source systems, users learn from each other’s mistakes; in proprietary ones, they’re not even allowed to mention them."

Take a read and find out how even a very basic open source system can cut costs and dramatically improve the quality of health care.