What is OpenMRS1, Limited?

OpenMRS1, Limited (from now on "the Inc.") is a United States-based, Indiana non-profit corporation that represents the OpenMRS project in legal and financial matters.

The organization's purpose is to support the OpenMRS community in it's mission to improve health care delivery in resource-constrained environments, including developing countries; and working with and coordinating a global community to create and support software to manage medical records and other health care systems in developing countries and to resource-constrained environments.

The Inc. aids in creating and distributing OpenMRS by securing cash, hardware, and other donations, then using donations to aid OpenMRS development and promotion.

The organization was originally founded as OpenMRS, LLC, to create a legal entity capable of representing the OpenMRS project. The growing popularity of OpenMRS also made it necessary to establish a thin organizational layer that is capable of handling all legal and financial interests of the OpenMRS community process.

In 2012 OpenMRS Inc. was registered as non-profit corporation under Indiana law. It is currently awaiting determination from the United States Internal Revenue Service regarding our application for US federal non-profit status. 

What we do

OpenMRS Inc's primary purpose is to support OpenMRS. OpenMRS is a community of developers, translators, writers and users. The Inc. supports the community through the following long-term activities:

• The Inc. holds property for the good of the entire community. This property includes the OpenMRS trademarks, hardware and networking equipment and cash money.
• Makes the property available to individual contributors as needed in order to support OpenMRS. This includes subsidizing events, purchasing individual hardware/infrastructure and offsetting other costs.
• Organizes events including code sprints, hackathons, developer meetings and the yearly OpenMRS Implementers Meeting.
• Approaches sponsors and supporting members for resources in order to carry out these activities.

How we do it

OpenMRS, Inc. is a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Indiana. We are currently awaiting determination from the United States Internal Revenue Service regarding our application for US federal non-profit status. We are organized for compliance with section 509(a)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code as a supporting organization, which means OpenMRS Inc. serves the interest of named non-profit organizations. Those organizations are currently named in our bylaws as Indiana University and Partners In Health. These supported organizations are allowed to appoint a member to the Board of Directors.

Our board of directors is elected by the Supported Organizations, as well as the OpenMRS community. Board members are selected to ensure the Inc. meets its goals. The Inc. has a full-time Executive Director responsible for day-to-day operations, resource acquisition, and other tasks. The activities of the members of the OpenMRS community are the backbone of actually supporting OpenMRS development. This includes promotional activity, writing articles and organizing events.

Board of directors

At the 2010 Implementers Meeting in Cape Town, Paul Biondich announced the transition of OpenMRS, LLC into a non-profit organization. A vital element to establish the organization is to form the Board of Directors. The Board will provide guidance for the organization and ensure that we adhere to the mission, vision, and values of OpenMRS. One seat on the Board will always be filled by an elected individual from the OpenMRS implementer community. OpenMRS implementers are characterized by their involvement in the implementer community such as active participation in the mailing lists, meeting attendance, and direct implementation experience on the ground in health care settings. The elected individual will represent the community’s voice on the Board and in the future of the organization.

Current board members

Responsibilities of the OpenMRS Board of Directors

• Assure OpenMRS adheres to its mission, vision, and values
• Determine and monitor the organization’s programs, services, and effectiveness
• Hold the organization accountable to make its plans in advance
• Ensure the organization creates a financial sustainability plan
• Review and approve annual budgets
• Support and review the performance of the executive director
• Represent OpenMRS to the public for both collaborative opportunities and financial support

Additional responsibilities of the community board member

• Represent the OpenMRS Implementer Community's perspective to the Board of Directors
• Provide real-world experience of using OpenMRS in a production environment