Shreeve stays relevant post-Medsphere

Generally, when an executive leaves the company he founded, he or she will retire to a life of quiet contemplation, like an ex-President writing his memoirs.

In the age of the Internet, and especially the world of open source, this is no longer necessary. Or even desireability.

Scott Shreeve (right)  left Medsphere, the open source hospital software company, amid some acrimony, but thanks to the Internet he remains in the arena.

Shreeve has launched a blog, CrossoverHealth, where he is free to sound off on open source in medicine, and where he has taken that freedom a step further, becoming a reporter with access to newsmakers in the field.

Take our recent piece on Misys going open source. Shreeve criticized the company, noting that the release went out before the code.

Thanks in part to Shreeve's prominence Misys responded, in the person of Tim Elwell, vice president for open source initiatives.

Long story short, Elwell apologized. He then noted the company has already delivered interoperability code and will deliver code the community can review in February.

Elwell also revealed Misys will invest millions in a separate open source unit in addition to $10 million already committed during 2006 toward the creation of connected communities.

The back-and-forth pleased another open source medical advocate, Fred Trotter. "Misys is acknowledging and dealing with the community head-on in a fashion that demonstrates transparency," he wrote.

By using an open source process, and staying involved, Scott Shreeve continues to serve open source medicine, over and above his early work at Medsphere. So can anyone. So can you.