As we had been indicating in recent posts, 2020 looked set to be a year of change for the Ripple Foundation. Certainly it was clear that change was coming, of some sort. So it has turned out to be.. little did we know that the pace of change would accelerate quite as fast as it did.
Despite all the unfortunate suffering and the downsides that 2020 has brought, it has at least jump started thinking and some action towards the major changes needed in our societies and economies.
Within the sector we have been most focussed on in recent years, healthcare, the need for changes in the way systems work have never been more needed.
Clearly there has been a heroic response from those at the frontline, all over the globe.
We hope that the systems that patients and staff must navigate will now move into the digital age in a more user centred, agile and effective way to improve the health of all. We can only see the role of an open platform in healthcare becoming more important and essential to see this future realised.
For now though, it is our view that the work the Ripple Foundation has been leading of late, i.e. open source improvements in usability, interoperability and vendor neutral open standards remains years ahead of where most stakeholders are at across the healthcare domain. That is the sector still has a lot of learning and growing up to do. Meanwhile related challenges across the broader socio economic landscape also need attention.
So for these reasons ,amongst others, the founders of the Ripple Foundation have chosen to move onto new challenges this year.
Dr Tony Shannon has recently made a move into the GovTech sector, towards improving digital services for citizens and public sector professionals in Ireland
Phil Barrett has recently made a move into the Housing sector, with his company Real Living Homes to ensure that the most essential of human needs, shelter, is made more affordable whilst adopting carbon neutral, modern methods of construction.
Indeed the leaders behind PulseTile, QEWD and EtherCIS are still available and working in the fields of usability, interoperability and data persistence/querying (inc openEHR) should you wish to get their help to address these key challenges.
As with Ripple Foundation, they all believe in the power of free software and free documentation but are not able to operate by offering free support. If you are wanting to explore any of the technologies further or need help getting started, please be aware of the Makers and Takers challenge that needs to be better understood as the world shifts towards a more sustainable future.
If you are still interested in further education/support/advice on the open source “Ripple stack” and choose to explore further, please make contact via this online form and we will connect you to the key technical advisor behind this work.
The Ripple Foundation site and resources will remain openly available as a signpost to the future of healthcare technology. We appreciate your support and interest in this work.
