> Perhaps it is more likely for LinuDent going together with e.g. TkFp > (Tcl/Tk-FamilyPractice)? It might get much easier to add an additional > Dental Module into TkFp which has the same Language than to > merge with OdontoLinux (if that uses another technology). Technically yes. But TkFp is probably quite unlikely to include much of anything it will never need. And it will never need dental functionality. Remember, this isn't about building the all-encompassing solution for large institutions. This is about building efficient solutions for particular problems. And TkFp is highly optimized for a GP office. > In the end, I think there is not a big difference between using a > software in a General Practitioner's practice and using it for > Specialists such as Dentists, Internists (don't know in English), > Chirurgists (??) etc. All there might be necessary is one or two > additional modules to the software. :-)) Technically not but the amount of necessary specialisation to be efficient or to even be a little more than just useable is incredible. Also, dentists aren't mere specialists of human medicine. They have quite different core needs at the functionality level. Their billing system works different, too. > Most functionality is common between all kinds of practices: > Administrating Patient Data, Keeping an EHR, Laboratory, > Imaging etc. Lab is not common between practices. Imaging needs differ wildly. Patient data administration does differ in some aspects. "Keeping an EHR" is way to broad to be useful - it's the tools _for_ keeping an EHR that matter and those differ tremendously. > It may be slightly more difficult to create such a > flexible system that can be used in many kinds. But it will be > _a hundred times_ more effort if we all try to create a complete > system for each special use. This is, of course, still true despite of the above and I support the concept of achieving flexibility by writing generic code. > It's all about one common domain! OpenEHR is working on it. The kind > of modules (or systems?) around that domain is arbitrary. Correct. But that doesn't mean that there may only be one system implementing the entire domain space !! It makes a lot of sense to build efficient systems optimized for part of the domain space to better suit specific situations. This is akin to Dr.Midgley's recent post about drug warnings being built directly into the source code (I don't agree with him because it is the wrong level of putting such information but the idea itself is valid and worthwhile). Another example would be the voluntary denormalization of selected database tables. Regards, Karsten -- GPG key ID E4071346 @ wwwkeys.pgp.net E167 67FD A291 2BEA 73BD 4537 78B9 A9F9 E407 1346
Attachment:
pgpH_hsePghmg.pgp
Description: PGP signature