Necessary clarification: Please note that the term implementation in the text below refers to development of a software platform based on openEHR. I realised that the term is overloaded in the health IT space, implying adoption of a standard sometimes. That is not what I mean by ‘implementation’.

Recently, I found myself in more than one discussion during which I was trying to explain what openEHR is to someone. It is common to adopt a different explanation of key concepts based on the occupation of the audience. The modelling side of things matter most to clinicians and policy makers and we talk in different terms than a conversation between software developers, architects etc.

The openEHR mail lists also reflect this natural distinction; there is technical, modelling, implementers etc.. I think I’ve realised something though, we end up having technical conversations with clinicians and implementation discussions with software developers. There is nothing wrong with it of course but I think the openness of the standard (it is in the name after all) is causing some problems in its adoption. This post is meant to express my thoughts about this pattern and it may or may not help you when you’re trying to understand some aspects of openEHR.Read More »