When it comes to tracking down unlicensed copies of the company's eFilm Workstation software, Merge Healthcare is choosing compassion over court action.
Officials of the Milwaukee-based developer of medical imaging software and services announced Tuesday that they will be launching a Web site and amnesty program to help healthcare providers comply with license agreements of the DICOM-based diagnostic imaging desktop system. The goal is to round up the estimated tens of thousands of illegal or unlicensed copies of eFilm Workstation and provide those working with such software with a licensed copy.
Since 2003, company officials say more than 100,000 copies of eFilm Workstation have been downloaded off the company's Web site.
"We want to be sure that we're protecting our clients and the patients they treat," said Nancy Koenig, president of Merge's Fusion division.
Merge's eFim Workstation allows clinicians to view digital MRI, CT, X-ray and other images to diagnose and recommend patient treatment. The company modifies and enhances the software as needed, and those updates are provided to licensed customers.
According to Koenig and Phil Desrude, director of Merge's eFilm business, healthcare providers with unlicensed copies of the software won't get the updates, and "their ability to diagnose patients and treat patients can be impaired."
Under the Authentic eFilm Software Amnesty Program, users of eFilm Workstation can access the Web site, www.authenticefilm.com, to determine if their software is properly licensed. If a healthcare provider is using pirated versions, shared software, multiple installations or expired licenses, they can purchase a license without penalty through the end of this year. Annual licenses cost $950, including support services.
Koenig and Justin Dearborn, Merge Healthcare's CEO, said most clinicians using unlicensed software probably don't even know they're using it illegally.
"We don't believe that the clinician community is in the business of using pirated content," Koenig said.
"We value our eFilm customer base, and hope to convert all non-compliant users into authorized users of the current and most robust version to date," added Dearborn in a press release announcing the amnesty program. "This initiative supports clinicians, and ultimately the safety of patients, by helping to ensure safe and effective use of what we consider to be the world's best stand-alone diagnostic imaging workststion."
In related news, Merge announced Tuesday that the company has joined the Software & Information Industry Association, the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry, which works with members to thwart software piracy.
According to Keith Kupferschmid, senior vice president of the SIIA's Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement division, the use of pirated or unlicensed software is "a huge issue" in the healthcare field, where lives could be placed at risk if a healthcare provider isn't using properly licensed software.
He pointed out one case in which a New York-area pediatrician illegally copied medical textbooks online, then offered them for sale. Included in those textbooks were dosage charts for medications that had been transposed incorrectly, so that any physician referring to those charts could be administering a fatal dose of a certain drug. The SIIA contacted the FBI, said Kupferschmid, which then conducted a raid on the pediatrician's office.
Kupferschmid said the SIIA's first job, when contacted by a member, is to seek out those using illegal copies of software and work with them to update their license. Legal action is only used as a last resort, he said. The organization generally has 200 cases pending at any time, of which one or two go to litigation.
Whereas the SIIA will generally charge three times the software's value to correct licensing issues, Kupferschmid points out that copyright infringement laws can be much more harsh. Legal cases often run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said, and one healthcare provider ended up paying $6 million in damages to SIIA because the case could have netted a $12 million penalty in the courts.
"Our job is not to punish people," he said. The organization's advice to holders of unlicensed software, he said, is "get educated, get smart and get legal."
Is the use of pirated or unlicensed software a problem in the healthcare field? Are you using questionable software, and would you make efforts to get it properly licensed? What are the ramifications of using such software? Send your comments to Managing Editor Eric Wicklund at eric.wicklund@medtechpublishing.com.