As each animal has its own lifetime, so does computer software. The best software today will be obsolete tomorrow because medical environment will change across the age. Even though, legacy systems (ancient language and programming environment) can have good performance, they usually cost more than an open system. Legacy migration is a difficult problem not only in medical field, but also in other fields. There are many successful cases of migration, but also many that have failed. What are your thoughts about “Legacy Migration”?

The Japan Medical Associateion promotes development of a medical accounting system as open source software project(ORCA). Because the system is constructed mainly in COBOL and has a legacy transaction system, there is much impedance around it in computer language, thought in developement, and age. It is the subject of frequent discussions among us. It is not easy to get COBOL programmers year by year. We will have to re-write all the system in near future.