Why we publish so much¶
If you buy health technology, you are probably used to seeing very little before you sign. Prices are "on application". Safety documentation arrives under a non-disclosure agreement, if at all. Known limitations surface after go-live. The source code is never seen.
OHTF works the other way round. For every Foundation Project you can read the source code, the clinical safety documentation, the known hazards and gaps, the licence, who maintains it and what stage it has reached, before you ever speak to us. That is deliberate.
What we publish¶
- The source code, in full, under an open licence, for every Foundation Project.
- Clinical safety documentation, including hazard logs and safety cases, in the same repository as the code they describe.
- Limitations and gaps. If a project has no clinically approved release, no appointed Clinical Safety Officer or an unfinished regulatory assessment, its page says so plainly.
- How each project is run: its maintainers, its lifecycle status and how decisions are made.
- How OHTF itself is run: our founding documents, governance and the commitments that bind us.
Why¶
Public money should buy public code. Software that the NHS and other health systems pay for should be something they can inspect, keep and improve, not something they rent and can lose.
You can do your due diligence before you buy. Your Clinical Safety Officer, information governance lead and technical team can review exactly what they would be taking on, at their own pace, without waiting for a supplier to release documents.
Safety improves under scrutiny. A hazard that is visible can be found and fixed by anyone: a clinician, a developer, a reviewer at another trust. Hiding safety evidence protects a supplier's reputation, not patients.
No lock-in. Because the code and its documentation are open, you are never dependent on OHTF. If we stopped tomorrow, you would still have everything you need to keep the software running, or to ask someone else to support it.
Honesty is cheaper than surprises. We would rather you see a gap on our website today than discover it in a contract meeting or after go-live.
What you pay for¶
Our code is free, and it stays free. When an organisation pays OHTF, it pays for people and time: integration, training, clinical safety work, and a named team to call. We agree those prices in advance, so there are no surprise costs, and paid work never makes a Foundation Project less open. See the open-source commitment and our services.
What we do not publish¶
Openness never comes at the cost of someone else's privacy or safety. We never publish patient data, personal contact details, unfixed security vulnerabilities, or information a partner has asked us to keep confidential. See transparency for the full list.