Key Takeaways:
1. An open-source hospital management system is a software solution designed to streamline and automate various administrative and clinical processes within a healthcare facility.
2. To identify the right free hospital management software, consider key features such as appointment scheduling, patient registration, reporting, indoor management, clinical modules, and accounting capabilities.
3. The benefits of using an open-source hospital management system include improved efficiency, enhanced patient care, streamlined workflows, reduced costs, and the ability to adapt to specific hospital needs.
4. Some top free and open-source hospital management software solutions include OpenEMR, Open Clinic GA, OpenMRS, One Touch EMR, Hospital Run, Medkey, Bahmni, Open Hospital, Chikitsa, GaiaEHR, and Datotahost.
As we all know, managing a hospital requires strong management in place. Hospitals are having a difficult time enhancing their patient care while improving their operational efficiency at the same time.
The key solution here is to use hospital management software.
Looking for Hospital Management Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Hospital Management solutions.
Doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff are dependent on the modern open source hospital management system to meet their and the patient’s requirements. This is quite obvious as these open source hospital management software are designed to manage almost every aspect of a hospital- inpatients, outpatients, electronic medical records, physicians’ availability, expenses, etc.
A hospital management solution can help streamline and automate various aspects of healthcare administration — right from patient registration and database management to consultant management, lab reporting, electronic health records, and more.
However, we should also not forget the fact that this hospital management software has the rap of being inordinately expensive to implement and difficult to customize.
So if you are either tight on budget or in desperate need of a turnkey best free hospital management software solution that will help you centralize your patient data, then my friend, you have landed at the right place.
Without further ado, let’s understand more about an open source hospital management system, its importance, and its benefits. We’ll also discuss the best free and open source hospital management software that can serve your purpose.
What is an Open Source Hospital Management System?
An open source hospital management system is a web-based or computer system that streamlines the information system of the healthcare industry. An open source and free hospital management software integrate information regarding healthcare providers, medical records, report generation, patients, staff, and hospital administration under one umbrella.
Choose systems that offer intuitive user interfaces and easy navigation for efficient adoption by healthcare professionals. Look for solutions that provide comprehensive features such as patient registration, scheduling, billing, and electronic health record management. Ensure the software offers robust security measures to protect sensitive patient information and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.
An open source clinic management system digitizes and optimizes all the processes within the hospital. It helps streamline the search of medical records, reduces process codes, improves bills, manages customer service, etc.
With hospital management software, manual management of data is reduced to a great extent as automation takes over. And, every information is easily available to the stakeholders with the best open source hospital management system.
How to Identify the Right Free Hospital Management Software?
The rising demand for open source software in the global market has led to its mushrooming growth. If your healthcare software system wants to identify the right hospital management software free, the following modules and components are essential:
Appointment Scheduler
- An appointment scheduler creates a monthly calendar of all the bookings that patients make.
- The appointment scheduler also takes care of assigning resources to patients after an appointment is made.
Patient Registration
- With patient registration, recording patient’s details becomes easier.
- It also creates a database of patients for easy and quick reference.
Reporting
- The reporting module manages reports from the system, like billing reports and medical reports.
- It also creates reports and disseminates information to the stakeholders.
Indoor Management
- The module creates an overview of multiple indoor assets like patient beds, round notes, ward occupations, and OTs.
- The modules can easily identify the status of patients in relation to their treatment.
Clinical Modules
- The clinical modules assist outpatient activities like vaccine charts and generating prescriptions.
- With clinical modules, testing and investigation can also be handled.
Accounting
- Accounting modules analyze everything related to billing, estimations, expenses, invoices, etc.
- Almost every account-related task can be executed with the clinic management system open source.
Why is an Open Source Hospital Management System Important?
An open source hospital management system is important because it enables healthcare centers and hospitals to manage information efficiently and function systematically.
With a patient management system open source, the day-to-day activities in the hospital can be easily streamlined. Managing the infrastructure and staff, and planning financial structures and budgets can also be easily done by the best open source hospital management system.
Implementing the best hospital management software will facilitate the operation and business processes of hospitals. A free hospital management software boosts work efficiency on all levels.
What are the Benefits of Using an Open Source Hospital Management System?
We’ll divide the benefits of using hospital management system open source across doctors, patients, hospital staff, and owners.
1. Hospital Management Software for Healthcare Professionals
- Offer medical aid anytime and anywhere
- Enables quick information access
- Effective patient management
- Seamless collaboration and communication
- Paperless report creation
- Real-time alerts and notifications
2. Hospital Management Software for Patients
- Real-time alerts and notifications
- Simple appointment booking and scheduling
- Access to healthcare facilities online
- Improved interaction between hospital staff and doctors
- Higher transparency
3. Healthcare Management System for Healthcare Staff
- Improved database management
- Improved coordination across several departments
- Accurate creation of reports
- Simplified and streamlined workflow
- Better task delegation
4. HMS for Hospital Owners
- Improved image management
- Guarantees total transparency
- Accurate management of data
- Better managing of finances
- Provides total control over operational expenses
- Enables the use of data to guide decisions
Our selection of these Free and Open Source Hospital Management Software is based on thorough research and analysis. We have listed these softwares based on usability and satisfaction score that include features, ease of use, customer support, ratings, and number of reviews from SoftwareSuggest. Our goal is to help businesses select the right softwares that can help them optimize their business processes.
12 Best Free & Open Source Hospital Management Software
| Software Name | Free Trail Period | Features |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Advanced scheduling using patient flow board, tracking and reporting | |
| 14 days | Multilingual Support available in English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese | |
| 30 days | Allows you to create a new patient in the free hospital management software | |
| 7 days | Easy documentation using familiar workflows | |
| 30 days | Inventory Management which includes audit tracking and cost accounting | |
| 14 days | International and International Standards compliant software | |
| 30 days | Support a variety of devices, which includes tablets and desktops | |
| 14 days | Easily monitor entry, exit, and material and drug costs | |
| 7 days | Keeps records of every patient who visited | |
| 30 days | Records and keeps track of your past practices with all your patients | |
| 14 days | Provides accounting functionalities for the maintenance of the lab | |
| 7 days | Aids with resource optimization to maximize profits |
1. OpenEMR
OpenEMR
OpenEMR is an open-source and free hospital management software. It is an ONC-certified solution that runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and a lot of other platforms.
The best part is that it can fulfill the needs of health centers of any size. This free electronic medical record can support up to 30 languages and allows customization as per one’s requirements.
You can easily generate lab orders using the system and automatically integrate them with the patient’s profile. Thus, it results in fast decision-making on how to diagnose a patient.
Besides, it is HIPAA-friendly with admin-based control to ensure tight security. Organizations like Peace Corps, Siaya District Hospital, and more are using Open EMR.
Key Features
- Tracks patient demographic information such as their name, sex, date of birth, marital status, contact number, HIPAA information, language known, nationality, insurance coverage, etc.
- Advanced scheduling using patient flow board, tracking, and reporting
- Create and send E- prescriptions using print, fax, and email
- In-house pharmacy and dispensary support
- Supports 5010 standards, institutional Billing standards, and paper claims
- Medical Claim Management Interface
- Physician as well as patient reminders
- A patient portal with a modern user interface secured chat and messaging and an option for online payments
- Multilingual Support
- Encryption of patient documents with fine-grained user access controls and active directory support
Pros and Cons
- The system provides comprehensive features for patient management, scheduling, billing, and clinical documentation, facilitating efficient healthcare practice workflows
- OpenEMR has a large and active user community, which fosters collaboration, support, and continuous software improvement
- The platform supports interoperability standards, allowing integration with other healthcare systems and the exchange of patient data
- OpenEMR supports multiple languages, making it accessible to healthcare providers and patients in diverse linguistic settings
- OpenEMR may require technical expertise for installation, configuration, and maintenance
- The user interface and overall design of OpenEMR may not be as modern or intuitive as some commercial EMR systems
- Support and documentation for OpenEMR may not be as comprehensive or readily available as commercial EMR solutions
2. Open Clinic GA
It offers a robust reporting capability that allows you to measure your hospital performance level. A complete clinic management software free manages OPD, scheduling, and IT management ADT. You can get a clear picture of the mortality stats and costs of care. Moreover, this free hospital management solution can be accessed by an unlimited number of users.
What’s more, the system runs on all major platforms — Mac OS, Unix-like, and Windows.
It is an open-source and free hospital management system that will efficiently manage your administrative, financial, clinical, mean distribution, and other data.
Key Features
- Multilingual Support is available in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese
- Offers human resource management module
- ADT and pharmacy stock management
- A highly customizable open-source hospital management software that uses Java class extensions.
- X-ray and pathology results management.
- Support for multimedia platforms such as pictures, video, and audio.
- Fingerprint identification
- Efficient database connection pooling.
- Mobile web interface along with barcode recognition on Android devices.
Pros and Cons
- Open Clinic GA features an easy-to-use and interactive interface, providing a user-friendly experience for healthcare professionals
- The platform integrates a full scheduling system, streamlining appointment management and ensuring efficient utilization of resources
- Open Clinic GA offers comprehensive patient management features, including medical records, history, and treatment plans
- The system supports customization options, allowing healthcare organizations to adapt the software to their specific needs and workflows
- Open Clinic GA has limited support, which can hinder the resolution of user issues or challenges
- The absence of comprehensive support may require users to rely more on self-guided resources or external assistance for troubleshooting
3. OpenMRS
OpenMRS
OpenMRS is one of the best hospital management software for eye hospitals. It was created to serve the needs of healthcare centers in developing countries. Organizations can easily adapt and modify the system, thus avoiding the need to create a system from scratch.
When you create a patient’s profile, it automatically generates a unique ID number. This physician scheduling software can be quite useful when you have more than one patient with the same name. You can add details like pulse rate, blood pressure, BMI, respiratory rate, patient’s height and weight, and more.
What’s more, its Capture Visit features enable you to directly add or edit the patient’s health record without opening their profile.
Key Features
- Patient dashboard, which will provide you with basic information about the patients, number of clinical visits, demographic information, graphs, medical forms, etc.
- Allows you to create a new patient in the hospital management software for free.
- It is built around an extensible framework which means that all patient reading, facts, and observation are stored in a database and can be edited by the implementer.
- It has a MyProfile tab that allows you to change your user information.
Pros and Cons
- OpenMRS has a large and active community, providing support, collaboration, and continuous system development
- The MyProfile tab in OpenMRS offers an intuitive interface, making it easy for users to manage their profiles and preferences
- The platform supports interoperability standards, ensuring seamless integration
- OpenMRS is highly customizable, allowing you to adapt the system to their needs and workflows
- Some users have reported difficulties installing OpenMRS, requiring technical expertise and troubleshooting to set up the system
- The learning curve for new users can be steep, as navigating and understanding the system's functionalities may take time and effort
4. One Touch EMR
One Touch EMR
One Touch EMR is a cloud-based free hospital management software that will get you everything you need in a few clicks. It can be used with any operating system- iPad, Android, Windows, and MAC.
Furthermore, it integrates with the laboratory to increase the efficiency of workflow, thereby improving patient care. And the good part is that it is quite easy to install. It gets you running in no time without having to worry about complex hardware and servers to host the EMR.
One Touch EMR comes with an intuitive interface. You can choose to touch, type, or dictate to enter data into the system.
Key Features
- An intuitive dashboard that will quickly give you an overview of the daily appointments, check on messages, and quickly add new patients and appointments
- Easy documentation using familiar workflows
- Scheduling to view appointments by day, week, month, and year
- A notification that will inform you whether the appointment has been confirmed, canceled, rescheduled, etc.
- Patient demographic screens in an easy-to-read format
- Connect with the labs electronically to reduce workloads, improve efficiencies, and increase revenue
- The system is highly customizable
- Secure with military-level encryption
Pros and Cons
- One Touch EMR is known for its flexibility, allowing customization to fit various healthcare workflows and preferences
- The system offers a simple and intuitive user interface, making it easy for healthcare professionals to navigate and use
- One Touch EMR provides comprehensive features for patient management, including scheduling, documentation, and billing
- The platform supports interoperability, allowing for the exchange of patient data with other healthcare systems
- Customer support for One Touch EMR is not actively responsive or readily available
- The system may lack certain advanced features or modules in other EMR systems
- Integration with external systems or devices is limited, potentially affecting interoperability and data exchange capabilities
5. Hospital Run
Hospital Run
Hospital Run is a free and open-source hospital management software that is open for partnership with people in NGOs, government, and technology sectors to provide advanced healthcare services.
It aims to provide a great user experience for clinicians, admins, and even contributors.
The software streamlines and optimizes the operational processes to save your staff time. This enables them to focus on more critical tasks at hand.
It is best suited for clinics located in the most rural areas of the planet, as it can operate even without connectivity. Besides, it is compatible with Windows and Mac.
Key Features
- Available offline, which means it can be accessed from anywhere regardless of variable connectivity
- Inventory Management which includes audit tracking and cost accounting
- Patient Management
- Image queuing
- Automatic and ad-hoc reporting
- Bed management and patient workflows
- Diagnostic Management
- Claim management
- Lab Information System
- Pharmacy Information system
- Expense Management
Pros and Cons
- HospitalRun is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it easy for healthcare professionals to navigate and utilize the system
- The platform provides offline capabilities, allowing healthcare facilities to continue functioning even during internet disruptions
- The system offers comprehensive features for managing patient records, scheduling, billing, and inventory management
- HospitalRun may have a steeper learning curve compared to some commercial EMR systems
- Some users have reported limited documentation and support resources, making troubleshooting issues challenging
- The system may have limitations in analytics and reporting capabilities, potentially impacting decision-making processes
6. Medkey
One of the best free and open source hospital management software, Medkey is an effective system designed to help you run a hospital smoothly. What sets it apart is that you can either choose to install the system on-premise as a self-hosted solution or deploy it as a SaaS cloud solution.
Furthermore, it comes with a robust set of features, which includes inventory management, quality control, electronic health records, and many more. The manufacturer claims it to be the fastest web application you will ever come across.
Key Features
- International and International Standards compliant software
- Allows you to easily upgrade your system without interrupting your working business process
- Has a cool, easy-to-use, and intuitive interface
- Enables seamless integration with third-party solutions
- Can customize as per your requirement — add or edit modules
- Works on any device and OS — Linux, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows XP, Ubuntu или MacOS
Pros and Cons
- It offers a user-friendly interface, making it easy for healthcare professionals to navigate and use the system
- The platform provides comprehensive features for patient management, including scheduling, documentation, and billing
- Medkey offers customization options to tailor the system to healthcare organizations' specific needs and workflows
- The system supports interoperability, allowing for the exchange of patient data with other healthcare systems
- Some users have reported limited customer support and response time
- Medkey has limitations in analytics and reporting capabilities, potentially hindering in-depth data analysis
7. Bahmni
Bahmni
Bahmni is an effective hospital management software that is ideal for healthcare set-ups in rural areas. It was developed as a concept to assist hospitals in low-resource environments with better insights. The idea was to improve patient care and efficiently manage clinical and diagnostic functionalities.
These smart insights help the institute to make smart decisions and reduce the day-to-day operational errors that hospitals generally face. Besides, you need minimal training to start using the system. It is that simple!
Key Features
- Support a variety of devices, which includes tablets and desktops
- Offers complete management of patient information across appointment scheduling, investigations, registration, billing, and discharge
- Has an intuitive interface
- Highly flexible and seamlessly integrates with existing systems
- Support multiple languages
Pros and Cons
- The system provides comprehensive features for managing patient records, appointments, billing, and inventory
- Bahmni offers integration with various medical devices and laboratory systems, facilitating seamless data exchange and interoperability
- The platform includes offline capabilities, enabling healthcare facilities to continue operating even during internet disruptions
- Bahmni is highly scalable, allowing healthcare facilities to expand operations and accommodate growing patient volumes
- Bahmni may have a steeper learning curve than some commercial EMR systems, requiring time and training for users to become proficient
- Some users have reported challenges with the installation and setup process, requiring technical expertise and troubleshooting
- The system has limited support documentation and resources, making finding answers to specific questions challenging
8. Open Hospital
Open Hospital
Open Hospital is a free and open-source hospital management software designed for health care in developing countries. It allows the digitalization of patient care information, including records of treatment, medicines, laboratories, and other data for better management of daily activities.
It was first developed to help St. Luke‘s Hospital in Uganda. Since then, it has managed to serve 23 operating institutions spread over 13+ countries. It is ideal for small and mid-sized hospitals. Besides, the software doesn’t require much maintenance and offers a good support system to its users.
Key Features
- Supports multi-languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic, German, French, Italian, and Swahili
- Easily monitor entry, exit, and material and drug costs
- Manages dates and execution of vaccinations and accurate management of births
- Generates reports and statistics in PDF and Excel formats
- Allows registration of patients by just using photos
Pros and Cons
- Open Hospital offers offline capabilities, allowing healthcare facilities to continue functioning even during internet disruptions
- The system provides comprehensive features for patient management, including scheduling, medical records, billing, and pharmacy management
- Open Hospital supports interoperability standards, facilitating data exchange with other healthcare systems and improving care coordination
- The platform is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it accessible and intuitive for healthcare professionals to navigate and utilize
- Open Hospital may have a learning curve for new users, requiring time and training to fully understand and utilize the system effectively
- Some users have reported limitations regarding documentation and user support resources
- The system may have limited integration options with certain external devices or systems
9. Chikitsa
Chikitsa is one of the best hospital management solutions that allows you to improve your patient care. It is best suited for solo practitioners or small clinics.
This open-source patient management solution offers a robust set of features, including billing and invoicing, maintaining appointment status, and more.
Besides, the system is quite easy to use. It offers an intuitive interface that is highly responsive. It allows you to create a detailed patient profile and store it.
Key Features
- Keeps records of every patient who visited
- Helps with diagnosis and treatment based on patient’s history
- Stores and organizes patient contact detail
- Schedules appointments for doctors
- Enables you to quickly generate bills and print receipt
Pros and Cons
- Chikitsa allows healthcare facilities to maintain a comprehensive record of patient visits, including diagnosis and treatment history
- The system facilitates the management of patient contact details, ensuring easy access to relevant information for communication and follow-ups
- Chikitsa enables booking doctor appointments, streamlining the scheduling process, and reducing administrative burden
- The platform offers the ability to generate bills and easily print receipts, simplifying the billing and payment process for patients
- It requires PHP 5.1.6, which may limit compatibility with newer versions of PHP or specific hosting environments
- There are several improvement areas in its customization and integration capabilities
10. GaiaEHR
GaiaEHR is an open source, web-based hospital management solution that runs on some major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and more.
The system is quite easy to install and use. After installing, you just need to log in by entering the correct username and password. Once you have logged in, you can create multiple user accounts with different passwords.
What’s more, this free hospital management software allows you to add multiple patients.
Key Features
- Lets you create a QR code for every patient for future reference.
- Can add billing and payment information to the patient’s profile
- Records and keeps track of your past practices with all your patients
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Runs on PHP-based application
Pros and Cons
- GaiaEHR offers comprehensive patient management features, including medical records, appointments, billing, and prescription management
- The system provides a user-friendly interface, making it easy for healthcare professionals to navigate and utilize it efficiently
- GaiaEHR supports interoperability standards, allowing for the exchange of patient data with other healthcare systems
- The platform offers customizable templates and forms
- Some users have reported user support and documentation limitations, impacting troubleshooting and resolving issues
- GaiaEHR may require technical expertise for installation, configuration, and maintenance
- The system has a high learning curve, and understanding its functionalities may take time and effort
11. Datotahost
Datotahost is another popular open-source hospital management software that is best suited for clinic laboratories. From producing to maintaining the pathological and clinical records, it can do it all. This clinical lab software supports all types of testing and can easily generate reports on the same.
Some of its other functionalities include chemical lab management, personal medical record management, and more.
Besides, it is quite easy to install. Once installed, log in using the default details, i.e., username – 1 and password – 1.
Key Features
- Offers support via Skype and WhatsApp
- Provides accounting functionalities for the maintenance of the lab
- Supports referral program
- Easy-to-use interface
Pros and Cons
- Datotahost offers active support via Skype and WhatsApp, ensuring prompt assistance for users
- The software provides accounting functionalities to maintain the lab's financial records
- Datotahost supports a referral program, allowing clinics to expand their network and drive patient referrals
- The software has an easy-to-use interface, making it user-friendly for clinic laboratories
- Integration options may be limited, restricting seamless connectivity with other healthcare systems or external devices
- Reliance on default login details (username - 1, password - 1) may pose a security risk if not changed
12. Elixir Aid
Elixir Aid
Elixir Aid offers world-class hospital management software that aims to make the entire hospital management paperless.
It enables you to handle the entire hospital resources from a single unified platform to avoid any confusion. This allows easy access to information and helps in making timely treatment decisions.
Furthermore, it is developed by Gescis Technologies, a leading IT company in India. They offer a comprehensive set of HR management solutions, including pharmacy management, managing staff profiles, and maintaining patient records.
Key Features
- Responsive layout to improve users’ experience
- A highly flexible solution that lets you customize as per your needs
- Aids with resource optimization to maximize profits
- Offers self-service portals for admins, doctors, and employees
- Allows secure payment method to increase administrative efficiency
Pros and Cons
- Elixir Aid offers a user-friendly interface, making it easy for healthcare professionals to navigate and utilize the system effectively
- The software allows for quick and efficient retrieval of patient and hospital information
- Elixir Aid features a responsive layout, enhancing the user experience by adapting to different devices and screen sizes
- The software provides high flexibility, allowing customization according to the specific needs and workflows of the hospital
- It has limited integration capabilities, making it difficult to create a synchronized environment
- The lack of responsive customer support makes it difficult to get timely resolution
Wrapping up
Implementing a hospital management solution can streamline your entire hospital’s operational activities, not to mention the cost savings and growth in revenue that you will see.
The list of hospital management software mentioned above can help you optimize your resource usage if you are running a clinic or a health care center. Also, it helps you to increase online patient reviews.
Some of these open source solutions are even designed to serve health centers in rural areas. Install it for free and make the best use of it.
If you think we can add more names to this list, feel free to tell us in the comment below.
Frequently Asked Questions
A free hospital management software streamlines all the functions of a hospital by integrating records of patients, doctors, hospital administration and healthcare staff under one big umbrella.
Yes, hospitals use open source software. You can get the options of an open source hospital management system from SoftwareSuggest.
Some of the best free online clinic management systems are:
- OpenEMR
- Chikitsa
- Bahmni
- OpenMRS
- Medkey
Some of the limitations of the open source hospital management system are:
- Expensive
- Complex implementation
- Average user interface aesthetics
The requirements for a free hospital management system are:
- Undertaking multiple registration
- Check out
- Security
- Performance
- Maintainability
- Reliability
Priya is a seasoned writer with expertise in the SaaS industry. With over five years of experience in the field, she deeply understands the requirement of this specific industry, its techniques, and tools. Her articles, whitepapers, and blog posts are known for their clarity, practicality, and actionable insights. Priya also possesses in-depth knowledge of SEO and content marketing, which enables her to develop effective strategies to increase website traffic and improve brand visibility.
