The inspiration
Shameem C Hameed, Founder & CEO: Back in 2008 when I needed a practice management software for my RCM business I was appalled by the cost and quality of available products. More so because I had cofounded a Hospital Management Software company in India in 1989, and I was aware that these solutions could be more economical. I also became aware that digital health and EHR implementations had become so cost prohibitive that it ran many hospitals and practices to the ground. Someone had to do something, and my brother, Shahzad, and I decided that we were that someone. So we decided to write, for free, open-source code for OpenEMR. We soon became consultants to organizations needing unique and differentiated digital health applications that weren’t supported by standard solutions. However, we found that open source solutions still needed a lot of work like infrastructure, upgrade, development, maintenance and other support. And owning the IP in open source was difficult.
