Dramatic Irony: Closing the Door with An "Open" Letter

Irony (i·ron·ee) n.

1. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
   
2. Incongruity between what might be expected (say) and what actually occurs (do)
   

I have read with “interest” Medsphere’s most recent press release and the community’s response to it.

Besides the irony of “the leading provider of open source technology for the healthcare industry” having to explain to its employees what its position is regarding open source (by posting a press release, nonetheless), one must also consider why they are having to explain it in the first place. Perhaps Medsphere’s motivations are the requirement to answer for their “betrayal of the community“, about “losing the faith“, and about their monumental identity crisis. There probably are 50 million other reasons why they are being forced to do so as well.

While I could spend a (few) thousand words describing the situation, let me accomplish the same objective with a single picture:

Source: Publicly available Cross-Complaint, Orange County Superior Court Case #06CC07475

Any “confusion” or “controversy”? I didn’t think so.

The irony runs MUCH deeper, of course, but I am unable to comment further in this forum at this time. Having co-founded the company, developed the founding vision, raised ~$15M in capital, closed ~$25M in customers business, and presented in nearly every forum possible in our industry (HIMSS, TEPR, interviews, etc) regarding the open source healthcare IT model, I believe I can speak with authenticity regarding the historicity of Medsphere’s open source position. Revisionist allegations aside, Medsphere’s open source vision has always been clear.

No need to say anything more, it was a part of everything we ever did.