| GNU Health | |
| Screenshot Size: | 220 |
| Author: | Luis Falcón |
| Developer: | GNU Project |
| Operating System: | Cross-platform |
| Genre: | Hospital Information System |
| License: | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Programming Language: | Python, Tryton framework |
GNU Health is a free/libre health and hospital information system[1] with strong focus on public health and social medicine. Its functionality includes management of electronic health records and laboratory information management system.[2]
It is designed to be multi-platform, supporting Linux distributions and FreeBSD on the server side. It uses PostgreSQL as its database engine. It is written in Python and uses the Tryton framework as one of its components.
GNU Health has been adopted by the United Nations University.[3] In 2011, it became a GNU official package. It was awarded Best Project of Social Benefit from the Free Software Foundation at LibrePlanet 2012, at University of Massachusetts Boston.[4]
GNU Health is a project of GNU Solidario, a non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) that works in the areas of health and education with free software.
GNU Health started in 2008 by Luis Falcón as a project for health promotion and disease prevention in rural areas. Its initial name was Medical. It has since evolved into a hospital information system, with a multi-disciplinary international team of contributors.
In August 2011, Richard Stallman declared GNU Health an official GNU Package. Following this, development was moved from SourceForge to GNU Savannah.
GNU Health is intended for health institutions and governments, with functionality to take care of the daily clinical practice, manage resources, and to improve public health.
GNU Health uses a modular approach around the kernel, with different functionality that can be included to meet the health center's needs. Some of the main packages are:
| Package | Functionality | |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Core package. Includes demographics, patients, evaluations, health centers, appointments, vaccinations, medicaments, health conditions, health professionals and other core models and functionality. | |
| Accounting | Functionality for bookkeeping: Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Invoice handling, cash journals etc. | |
| Pediatrics | Main package for pediatrics (including neonatal information and pediatric psychosocial assessments). | |
| Pediatric Growth Charts | Includes World Health Organization percentile and z-scores charts. | |
| Gynecology and Obstetrics | Gynecology, obstetrics, perinatal and puerperium assessment and history. | |
| Lifestyle | Physical exercise, diets, drug addictions, National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) recreational drug database, Henningfield ratings, sexuality, risk factors, home safety, child safety. | |
| Genetics | Person genetic information and family history. Includes 4200+ "disease genes" from the NCBI/GeneCards. | |
| Genetics Uniprot | UniProt database on human protein natural variants and phenotypes. | |
| Lab | Laboratory information management system functionality. | |
| Socioeconomics | Assessment and history of education, occupation, living conditions, hostile areas, child labor and prostitution, among others. | |
| Inpatient | Hospitalization, bed, operating room management. Inpatient care and nursing plans. | |
| Surgery | Pre-operation checklist, procedures, operating rooms, patient surgery history. | |
| Services | Groups health related services for the patient. It also allows generating invoices and billing the selected services. | |
| Calendar | CalDAV and WebDAV server. Manages appointments, hospitalizations, bed and other resources. | |
| QR Codes | Includes QR codes for identification on persons, patients and lab orders. | |
| History | Reports for patient demographics and medical history. Electronic Health Record EHR | |
| MDG6 | Millennium Development Goal 6: Functionality to fight malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. | |
| Reporting | Demographic, epidemiological and health center related information. | |
| Nursing | Nursing functionality. Patient roundings, medication administration and procedures. | |
| ICU | Basic intensive-care unit assessment, history and patient management. | |
| Stock | Pharmacy and locations stock management. Automatic stock moves generation on medical procedures. | |
| NTD | Base module to cover neglected tropical diseases. | |
| NTD Chagas | NTD submodule for vector control, diagnosis, and management of chagas disease. | |
| NTD Dengue | NTD submodule for vector control, diagnosis, and management of dengue fever. | |
| Imaging | Diagnostic Imaging orders management functionality. | |
| Orthanc | Module for integration with Orthanc PACS Server | |
| Federation | Integration with the GNU Health Federation | |
| Crypto | Support for document digest/record integrity check with hash functions; digital signatures and GNU Privacy Guard plugin. | |
| Archives | Functionality to track legacy or paper-based patient health records. | |
| Ophthalmology | Basic ophthalmology and optometry functionality. | |
| Functioning and Disability | Based on WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and Laos Center of Medical Rehabilitation. | |
| ICD9 Vol 3 | WHO ICD-9-CM Volume 3 procedure codes. | |
| ICD10 | WHO ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases - 10th revision | |
| ICD11 | WHO ICD-11 International Classification of Diseases - 11th revision | |
| ICPM | WHO International Classification of Procedures in Medicine. | |
| ICD10 PCS | Procedure Coding System extension | |
| Insurance | Insurance and pricelists on services and products management. | |
| EMS | Ambulance and Emergency Management System. | |
| Assessment, identification and followup of people who may have come into contact with an infected individual. |
GNUHealthCon[19] is an annual conference organized by GNU Solidario. It provides the space for developers, implementers and community members to meet in person during three days. It includes sessions about social medicine, technical discussions, implementation cases and workshops.
GNU Health Social Medicine awards ceremony is part of GNUHealthCon. The awards recognize the role of individuals and organizations committed to improve the lives of the underprivileged. There are three award categories: Individual, Organization and GNU Health Implementation.
GNU Health Social Medicine Awards[20]
| Year | Individual | Organization | GNU Health Implementation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Laos Center of Medical Rehabilitation (CMR)[21] | |||
| 2017 | Lorena Enebral[22] | Bikop Medical Center[23] | ||
| 2018 | Jose Caminero Luna | Bafia District Hospital | ||
| 2019 | Jamaica Ministry of Health | |||
| 2020 | Municipality of Diamante, Argentina [24] | |||
| 2021 | Luna Reyes Segura[25] | Insolàfrica [26] | ||
| 2022 | Teresita Guadalupe Calzia[27] | Cirugía Solidaria [28] | ||
| 2023 | Sébastien Jodogne[29] | Fundación Jérôme Lejeune Argentina[30] |