Reboot (rē-būt‘) v.
- To turn (a computer or operating system) off and then on again
- To restart something
Last Thursday, we finalized a mutual settlement agreement with Medsphere. It took five hundred and four days after being drawn into the campaign to reach this conclusion. To us, this war was always about principles, while to others it was “just business“. In the end, all parties had heard and seen and spent enough.
Looking back on my 5 1/2 year experience at Medsphere, the only thing I can say is:
[cntrl][alt][delete]
Looking forward, I certainly wish the new Medsphere CEO Mike Doyle every success in fulfilling our vision to revolutionize the healthcare information technology industry. He is correct in recognizing the vast VistA opportunity that lies before Medsphere. Hopefully he will have the freedom and wisdom to run it as a truly open source company, dedicated to a transparent development process, a transformative business approach, and clear commitment to openness so as to engender trust from the community and the market place. Viva la Revolución, Mike.
As for me, “now by the [recent] pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of [near] absolute freedom and independency; [I am], from this period, to be considered an actor on a most conspicuous theater, which seems to be peculiarly designed by providence for the display of human greatness and felicity”. Having helped to create the open source health information technology category, I now plan to be a part of the next wave of entrepreneurs enabling the crossover into next generation health care.
[1] George Washington’s Farewell Address. Published September 19, 1796 as a valedictory to the years of dedicated public service in the creation of his beloved country.
Scott Shreeve, MD 
Congrats! I’m sure this is a huge weight off your shoulders and we can see you devote your full energies to remaking the health sphere!
The aspect of trading control for capital really is the bane of the entrepreneurial healthcare space– capital requirements are so high for a space as highly regulated/ legislated as healthcare. Regulators should keep this in mind as they decry current imperfections in the sector (which if they left alone would likely result in some entrepreneurial solution).
Scott, glad to hear the monkey is off your back. I hope this frees you up to join the revolution you help start.
Good luck and Godspeed!