Ignacio Valdes, Editor of Linux Medical News and Vice Chair of the AMIA Open Source Working Group is the recipient of the inaugural annual award of the IMIA Open Source Working Group. The award is made in recognition of long-standing significant achievment in the promotion of free/libre and open source software in health informatics.

The award was presented at the annual business meeting of the AMIA OSWG in Washington DC on 13 November, 2006 by Peter Murray, IMIA Vice President for Working Groups and Special Interest Groups.

The IMIA General Assembly approved on 10 November 2006 the establishment of an annual award by the IMIA Open Source Health Informatics Working Group (OSWG). The inaugural award will be made at the AMIA OSWG meeting on 13 November in Washington DC.

The IMIA General Assembly also finally ratified the proposal for the IMIA OSWG to co-sponsor the Annual Linux Medical News Award.

Final bit of breaking news for those who like to plan ahead – the medinfo2010 conference will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to ModernHealthCare.com, Medsphere signs Indian Health Service deal (registration required)
Medsphere Systems Corp., Aliso Viejo, Calif., has signed a one-year contract with the Indian Health Service to provide ongoing development, support and expansion of clinical information technology systems at the IHS.

Apparently Kaiser is having issues. Apparently a project manager “sent a scathing e-mail to most of the company’s 140,000 employees” and the “The executive overseeing Kaiser Permanente’s ambitious $3-billion push toward computerizing the medical records of its 8.6 million members resigned Tuesday, a sign of the challenges facing the project.”