Catching the ear of the developer: Don Park provides an explanation
I had sent an email to Don Park, an XML developer, asking about what it would take to attract developers to even consider clinical issues.
Re how to catch the ear of the developers, the best way is to tell them
your problems or describe your daily routines while concentrating on the
spots you think engineers can ease. Since engineers are, by nature, problem
solvers, they are attracted to specific problems more than general
complaints. Developers who had experiences with software for the
medical industry tend to flinch away because there is so much redtape
surrounding the medical industry which engineers tend to shun.
This works perfectly with an article I'm writing about creating tech solutions from a bottom-up perspective, more to follow...
I also asked him about the use of the terms "open source" and "open format." Dave corrected me when I referred to RSS as open source. (BTW, I'm not necessarily interested in the Atom vs RSS imbroglio, at least not for now.)
Both RSS and Atom are data formats. RSS is a de facto standard,
meaning it is in wide use. Atom is still in development and is not a de facto
standard although many developers have shown interest in supporting it in the
beginning. Neither are standards in the sense they are approved by a
standards body like W3C, OASIS, or IETF. Atom guys plan to submit
their spec to IETF however. Since RSS is already a de facto standard, RSS
will probably not be submitted to any standards body.
Open Source is orthogonal to XML standards although many XML software
tend to be open source.
For my needs, I'd prefer to remain agnostic and avoid adhering to any orthodoxy whether it be open source or a fixed standard or even proprietary, and just look for a workable solution understanding that it serves as a prototype for the time being. There's a lot to be said for developing and evaluating prototypes that address specific problems as opposed to the acceptance of the top-down, grand clinical system that is meant to be the panacea.
7:52:43 AM 
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