Project Galen
An Open Source Electronic Health Record
For over 30 years the health care field has been moving from paper and film based record systems toward the use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The advantages of an EHR are numerous and include reduced errors, increased patient safety, and access from multiple locations.
Most current EHR systems are proprietary and expensive, and so unavailable to many health care providers, especially in areas of poverty. Project Galen's goal is the ongoing development of a free open source EHR system that is relatively easy and inexpensive to deploy.
Built by the Students in the Medical Informatics Degree Programs
As part of the Medical Informatics programs at RIT students participate in Project Galen. Project Galen allows the students to apply their strong background in science, computing, and the field of medicine to the benefit of patients around the world. In the process they gain firsthand knowledge of the development of new applications for the future of healthcare.
Features of the Galen EHR
- World Wide Web Technologies allow easy deployment
- Built on Open Source Molly system
- Standards Compliant
- Leverages Broad Expertise of RIT's Faculty in areas of:
- Software Design and Engineering
- Usability and Human Factors
- Structure and content of complex interactive systems
- Infrastructures critical to the Internet
- Intersection of technology with medical practice
Who was Galen?
Galen (Greek: Γαληνός, or "Galinos") was a prominent physician in ancient Greece (circa 129-216 A.D.), whose theories dominated medical science for over 1300 years. Galen was born in the Greek city of Pergamum (now Bergama, Turkey). As a physician in the gladiator school there he gained considerable experience with the treatment of trauma and later described wounds as "windows into the body." In 162 A.D. Galen moved to Rome where he wrote extensively, lectured and demonstrated his knowledge of anatomy. He soon became court physician to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He performed many surgical procedures that were not attempted again for almost two millennia, including brain and cataract surgery. Galen's writings on anatomy were the basis of the medieval physician's curriculum.
