GNU Health

GNU Health
Original authorLuis Falcón
DeveloperGNU Project
Release12 October 2008; 18 years ago (2008-10-12)
Stable release
5.0.7 Edit this on Wikidata / 12 April 2026
Written inPython, Tryton framework
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeHospital Information System
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-later
Websitewww.gnuhealth.org
Repository

GNU Health is a free/libre health and hospital information system with strong focus on public health and social medicine. Its functionality includes management of electronic health records and laboratory information management system.

It is designed to be multi-platform, supporting Linux distributions and FreeBSD on the server side. It uses PostgreSQL as its database engine. It is written in Python and uses the Tryton framework as one of its components.

GNU Health has been adopted by the United Nations University. In 2011, it became a GNU official package. It was awarded Best Project of Social Benefit from the Free Software Foundation at LibrePlanet 2012, at University of Massachusetts Boston.

GNU Health is a project of GNU Solidario, a non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) that works in the areas of health and education with free software.

History

GNU Health started in 2008 by Luis Falcón as a project for health promotion and disease prevention in rural areas. Its initial name was Medical. It has since evolved into a hospital information system, with a multi-disciplinary international team of contributors.

In August 2011, Richard Stallman declared GNU Health an official GNU Package. Following this, development was moved from SourceForge to GNU Savannah.

Usage

GNU Health is intended for health institutions and governments, with functionality to take care of the daily clinical practice, manage resources, and to improve public health.

Features

GNU Health uses a modular approach around the kernel, with different functionality that can be included to meet the health center's needs. Some of the main packages are:

PackageFunctionality
HealthCore package. Includes demographics, patients, evaluations, health centers, appointments, vaccinations, medicaments, health conditions, health professionals and other core models and functionality.
AccountingFunctionality for bookkeeping: Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Invoice handling, cash journals etc.
PediatricsMain package for pediatrics (including neonatal information and pediatric psychosocial assessments).
Pediatric Growth ChartsIncludes World Health Organization percentile and z-scores charts.
Gynecology and ObstetricsGynecology, obstetrics, perinatal and puerperium assessment and history.
LifestylePhysical exercise, diets, drug addictions, National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) recreational drug database, Henningfield ratings, sexuality, risk factors, home safety, child safety.
GeneticsPerson genetic information and family history. Includes 4200+ "disease genes" from the NCBI/GeneCards.
Genetics UniprotUniProt database on human protein natural variants and phenotypes.
LabLaboratory information management system functionality.
SocioeconomicsAssessment and history of education, occupation, living conditions, hostile areas, child labor and prostitution, among others.
InpatientHospitalization, bed, operating room management. Inpatient care and nursing plans.
SurgeryPre-operation checklist, procedures, operating rooms, patient surgery history.
ServicesGroups health related services for the patient. It also allows generating invoices and billing the selected services.
CalendarCalDAV and WebDAV server. Manages appointments, hospitalizations, bed and other resources.
QR CodesIncludes QR codes for identification on persons, patients and lab orders.
HistoryReports for patient demographics and medical history. Electronic Health Record EHR
MDG6Millennium Development Goal 6: Functionality to fight malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
ReportingDemographic, epidemiological and health center related information.
NursingNursing functionality. Patient roundings, medication administration and procedures.
ICUBasic intensive-care unit assessment, history and patient management.
StockPharmacy and locations stock management. Automatic stock moves generation on medical procedures.
NTDBase module to cover neglected tropical diseases.
NTD ChagasNTD submodule for vector control, diagnosis, and management of chagas disease.
NTD DengueNTD submodule for vector control, diagnosis, and management of dengue fever.
ImagingDiagnostic Imaging orders management functionality.
OrthancModule for integration with Orthanc PACS Server
FederationIntegration with the GNU Health Federation
CryptoSupport for document digest/record integrity check with hash functions; digital signatures and GNU Privacy Guard plugin.
ArchivesFunctionality to track legacy or paper-based patient health records.
OphthalmologyBasic ophthalmology and optometry functionality.
Functioning and DisabilityBased on WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and Laos Center of Medical Rehabilitation.
ICD9 Vol 3WHO ICD-9-CM Volume 3 procedure codes.
ICD10WHO ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases - 10th revision
ICD11WHO ICD-11 International Classification of Diseases - 11th revision
ICPMWHO International Classification of Procedures in Medicine.
ICD10 PCSProcedure Coding System extension
InsuranceInsurance and pricelists on services and products management.
EMSAmbulance and Emergency Management System.
Contact tracingAssessment, identification and followup of people who may have come into contact with an infected individual.

Reception


Project milestones

GNUHealthCon

GNUHealthCon is an annual conference organized by GNU Solidario. It provides the space for developers, implementers and community members to meet in person during three days. It includes sessions about social medicine, technical discussions, implementation cases and workshops.

GNU Health Social Medicine awards

GNU Health Social Medicine awards ceremony is part of GNUHealthCon. The awards recognize the role of individuals and organizations committed to improve the lives of the underprivileged. There are three award categories: Individual, Organization and GNU Health Implementation.

GNU Health Social Medicine Awards

YearIndividualOrganizationGNU Health Implementation
2016Richard StallmanRed CrossLaos Center of Medical Rehabilitation (CMR)
2017Lorena EnebralNational University of Entre RíosBikop Medical Center
2018Jose Caminero LunaTor ProjectBafia District Hospital
2019Aaron Swartz Animal Free Research UKJamaica Ministry of Health
2020Angela DavisProactiva Open ArmsMunicipality of Diamante, Argentina
2021Luna Reyes SeguraPhysicians Committee for Responsible MedicineInsolàfrica
2022Teresita Guadalupe CalziaFranz Weber FoundationCirugía Solidaria
2023Sébastien JodogneLeibniz University HannoverFundación Jérôme Lejeune Argentina
2024Alexandra ElbakyanSea-EyeCentre Médico Familial et Communautaire (CEMEFCO), Haiti
2025Francesca AlbaneseTryton FoundationUNITEC - CIS El Níspero - Honduras

See also

References

  1. ↑ Luis Falcón (12 April 2026). "GNU Health HIS server 5.0.7 patchset bundle released". Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  2. ↑ Ardis Hanson and Bruce Lubotsky Levin (2012). Mental Health Informatics. Oxford University Press. pp. 244 - 245
  3. ↑ "GNU LIMS: Laboratory Information Management System for Healthcare and Biomedical Sectors".
  4. ↑ "Memorandums of Understanding - International Institute for Global Health". Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Matt (26 March 2012). "2011 Free Software Awards announced". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "ICT for Improving Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health". 14 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Premios PortalProgramas al Software Libre 2014". 29 October 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ↑ "Premios PortalProgramas al Software Libre 2012". 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ "Bewerber vorgestellt: GNU Health". 26 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "GNU Health gewinnt Sonderpreis beim OpenSource Business Award". 12 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "Free Software vs Open Source: Tryton vs OpenERP". 8 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "When Free Software Depends on Nonfree". 11 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "[Health-announce] GNU Health 2.8 is out !". lists.gnu.org.
  14. ↑ "GNU Health - News: GNU Health 3.0 released [Savannah]". savannah.gnu.org.
  15. ↑ "GNU Health - News: GNU Health 3.2 released [Savannah]". savannah.gnu.org.
  16. ↑ Solidario, G. N. U. "thalamus: The GNU Health Federation Message and Authentication Server" – via PyPI.
  17. ↑ "GNUHealth on openSUSE - openSUSE Wiki". en.opensuse.org. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  18. ↑ "Welcome to MyGNUHealth, the GNU Health Libre Personal Health Record". savannah.gnu.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  19. ↑ "Registry. Digital Public Goods Alliance". digitalpublicgoods.net. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  20. ↑ "GNU Health - Global Goods Guidebook". globalgoodsguidebook.org. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  21. ↑ "Digital Square announces new software global goods approved through Notice G". digitalsquare.org. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  22. ↑ "GNU Health CON 2019 - IV International GNU Health Conference". www.gnuhealthcon.org.
  23. 1 2 "GNUHealthCON 2017 - II International GNU Health Conference". www.gnuhealthcon.org.
  24. ↑ "COPE - provider of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services in Laos". Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  25. ↑ Mashal, Mujib (September 11, 2017). "She Was Teaching Him to Walk. He Shot Her From His Wheelchair". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ "Premio GNU - Social Medicine Award (2017)". November 25, 2017.
  27. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2020". November 21, 2020.
  28. ↑ Kassam, Ashifa (May 20, 2021). "Spanish aid volunteer abused online for hugging Senegalese migrant". The Guardian.
  29. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2021". December 11, 2021.
  30. ↑ "GNU Health Planet - Social Medicine Awards". November 18, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Medical Campaign uses GNU Health, openSUSE". October 19, 2022.
  32. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2023".
  33. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2023".
  34. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2024".
  35. ↑ "GNU Health Social Medicine Awards 2025".

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