Senator John D. Rockefeller has proposed legislation to encourage development of interoperable systems for universal medical records. The bill, known as the Health Information Technology Public Utility Act of 2009, calls for the government to implement a grant program to facilitate the development of open source software and open standards that will help meet this goal.

This isn't the first time that open source software has been considered for use with medical records. Last year, a report attached to the National Defense Reauthorization Act encouraged the Department of Defense to refine procurement policies to maximize use of open source in the area of veterans health systems, especially in relation to electronic record storage.

Open standards for health records systems will ensure broader interoperability, and the standards make it easier for the data to be accessed and repurposed by various government systems. The availability of the source code under an open license will lower the barriers to implementing support for the format in third-party software and will also empower small hospitals and organizations that don't have the resources to build their own applications or to purchase commercial products.

"We need advancements in health information technology across the board to improve the quality of care Americans receive," said Senator Rockefeller in a statement. "Open source software is a cost-effective, proven way to advance health information technology—particularly among small, rural providers."

The act will likely be welcomed by open source software vendors, who have rallied for government adoption of open technology in public letters to the Obama administration.

The senator says that his proposal would not mandate the use of open source software programs nor block adoption of proprietary commercial software. The objective is to fund development of an open source reference implementation so that a completely free and open solution is available for organizations that desire one. Proprietary software vendors will be able to implement support for the new open standards in their own products, thus guaranteeing interoperability.

"This legislation does not replace commercial software," said Rockefeller. "Instead, it complements the private industry in this field—by making health information technology a realistic option for all providers."

If passed, the bill would establish grants to fully cover the cost of developing the software and to fund its maintenance for five years, at which time the grant could be renewed if the project has proved useful. The bill also calls for the formation of a federal public utility board to coordinate the development process and oversee integration of the standards into the Medicaid system.