open-ortho
Clinical interoperability based on open standards.
Ethical Problem
Lack of open-standard based interoperability is common all over technology. But for non-medical fields, the impact on humanity is mostly low. For example, having to install and use a dozen different messaging apps (like WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Skype, Viber, iMessage, Google Duo, Zoom, Google Meet, etc) just to be able to keep in touch with all of our coworkers, friends and family is inconvenient, but ultimately we can have patience and live with it.
Research
However, the lack of widespread open-standard based interoperability is directly impacting research (Research Problem), which in turn is directly impacting medical progress, which, in turn, is directly impacting the health of humanity.
Human Resources
Similarly, wasting human resources to perform the same or similar tasks over and over again (Human Resources Problem), without actually any functional contribution to human society, will also, ultimately impact the health of humanity. This is because these resources are shared with the ones necessary for software development (bug fixes and new features).
Data Conversion
In the case of transitioning to a new system
- the loss of patient information can impact patient treatment
- the excessive requirement of clinical staff resources to complete the transition (cleaning up data, for example), also causes resources to be taken away from patient care.