The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) has announced five task forces, among them an ‘exploratory initiative’ for Open Source: ‘Open Source is currently an important topic throughout the computer software community and has implications for health care information systems. The purpose of this initiative is to explore the feasibility for AMIA to assume a leadership role in promoting and coordinating Open Source activities in the interests of health care system development. This exploratory effort will inventory the level of interest in Open Source initiatives among the health care information systems vendor community; will consider how those activities might interface with the broader Open Source community; and will assess needs and determine the feasibility of AMIA developing an organizational program designed to promote and coordinate Open Source activities in health care. The exploratory initiative will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Hammond and Mr. Reynolds.’