Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) is planning to host the first-ever Healthcare Day at LinuxWorld San Francisco on August 15, the Beaverton, Ore.-based firm announced this week.
The event was developed in response to an expected increase in healthcare 
IT spending in the near term and the growing role of open source 
software in the healthcare industry.
Cost Advantages
According to research published by Rand earlier this year, IT budgets average just two to three percent of overall healthcare expenditures, which compares to 12-15 percent in other industries.
As a result, healthcare IT spending is expected to grow at a faster rate than overall IT.
This, the OSDL said, increases the appeal of open source software to managers who have concerns such as implementation costs, ensuring security of patient information and creating consistency among networks.
A Growing Segment
"Linux and open source software have become pervasive in vertical markets such as retail and financial services," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "The healthcare market today is positioned for major growth, and managers are in a position to take control of their IT strategies and to have a significant impact on their organizations and the overall healthcare industry with open source technologies."
Medsphere CEO Kenneth W. Kizer, MD MPH, will deliver the Day's keynote.
Medsphere is a provider of open source software for the healthcare industry, including OpenVista, a portfolio of open source products and services based on the Vista electronic medical records system used by the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.
The agenda for the OSDL Healthcare Day event includes application demos, deployment case studies and discussions that will look at the emerging impact Linux and open source software are having on the next generation of healthcare.
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