MUMPS is a subject I've tried to study before but confess I didn't get very far. For my purposes back in the 90's, PostgresQL was the best fit and it has worke

MUMPS is a subject I've tried to study before but confess I didn't get very far. For my purposes back in the 90's, PostgresQL was the best fit and it has worked out well. Meanwhile EHR systems have become a huge industry, but now having to catch up is hard. Learning about VistA is mind-boggling in its scope and complexity, and especially since it has been open-sourced for a long time. It's a point of curiosity that it's not been discussed more than a little here and there in the FOSS media. So I appreciate the informative article, as it gives me some starting points to explore this vast field. Might even give another stab at MUMPS, though it's a hill to climb. However some of the open-source projects that grew out of (or on top of) VistA offer some interesting ways of approaching it. One project with immediate appeal to me is EWD.js, which is a node.js javascript implementation of server and client via WebSockets, and a MUMPS DB backend. Should be interesting to try out. http://gradvs1.mgateway.com/download/EWDjs.pdf http://gradvs1.mgateway.com/download/EWDjs.pdf I could be wrong but it seems someone just starting out could find opportunities in the field of health care computing. Given the political thrust to have EHRs everywhere seems logical the field will grow. Above all, the need for security expertise in the EHR domain is enormous and will greatly expand in the next several years. The FOSS aspects might well create openings for innovators with creative products and ideas to reduce the cost burdens that high-priced EHRs have been contributing to health care systems.