SharedRecords Software

An open source version of the SharedRecord software is available on the SharedRecords.org developer site. This software is written in Java and meant to run on a local machine to do the following:

• Encrypt files (each file gets a unique key)
• Store the encrypted files
  • Store a copy locally
  • Optionally upload a copy to SharedRecords.org or another repository
• Generate a barcode including the Record ID (Sha1 of encrypted file) and decryption key
• Given a barcode, retrieve and decrypt the associated file
• Upload, download, and synchronize metadata associated with a record, including the history of accesses

The software includes Java and C# libraries for developers who wish to integrate the SharedRecords capabilities into their own software and services.

SharedRecords Web Service

The SharedRecords Web servers provide a common repository for storing encrypted files. These servers have been operating for 2 years and we plan to maintain them for the indefinite future. The servers currently operate on top of Amazons EC2 web service.

In practice we have found that usage by a clinic or school requires integration with their existing systems. The REST API to SharedRecords service provides the easiest method for this integration.

Use in clinics

The SharedRecords approach has been used in the context of several pilot projects. Most recently the ServiceLink2 project deployed a fully integrated system to a physical therapy clinic in the Bay Area in Mar 2008. This project, a joint effort with Ricoh Innovations, Dimagi, and Savvy Clinic helped us understand the current strengths and limitations of the SharedRecords approach. In this deployment, therapists were able to record videos of their clients doing excersizes and provide direct links to those videos for the clients.

Use in the Forms Repository

Our experience with the ServiceLink projects and the UnaMesa Academy has shown that social service agency do not have the capacity to integrate SharedRecords capabilities directly into their existing business processes. In general these agencies need a simple, complete solution for getting their paper forms online while respecting all of the issues associated with security and privacy. To that end, UnaMesa is currently working with a few partners on a forms repository. Essentially this will be a kind of frontend to the SharedRecords service making it easy for organizations to share and store scanned versions of paper forms and integrate those forms into their associated business processes.