TriSano: Collaborating for the Good of Global Public Health

Healthcare and public health continue to experience significant changes, driven primarily due to new legislation and economic challenges. These changes mean that those in healthcare and public health are under pressure to respond differently in order to meet the health needs of the population. Additionally, public health is collaborative, by nature. Epidemiologists, informaticians, public health officials, nurses, and doctors fluidly come together to prevent disease and protect the health of the global citizens. This article explores how collaboration and open source software helps healthcare and public health address their challenges across the globe. It is based on the experiences of the TriSano project from the past three years. It traces the history of the project and the refinement of its business model and product offerings to illustrate how collaboration based on a shared business vision with industry thought leaders leads to sustainable software and communities. Finally, insights are shared from working at the intersection of a humanitarian open source project and the business world.