# Best open source software for hospitals and healthcare > For hospitals and healthcare providers, a self-hosted stack starts with OpenEMR for patient records, Cal.diy for appointments and Paperless-ngx for consent forms and documents. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source software for hospitals and healthcare? | | Picks | 17 | | Top pick | OpenEMR (5,497 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hospitals | Healthcare teams self-host to keep patient data on infrastructure they control. The catalog has two clinical systems, OpenEMR for records and practice management and OpenELIS Global for laboratories; the rest of this stack covers scheduling, documents, communication and identity. ## Patient records and lab systems - [OpenEMR](https://appsgit.com/apps/openemr) (5,497 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): OpenEMR has 5,497 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,827 commits in the last year. - [OpenELIS Global](https://appsgit.com/apps/openelis-global) (268 stars, MPL-2.0, Java, Docker): OpenELIS Global has 268 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 378 commits in the last year. ## Appointments and scheduling - [Cal.diy](https://appsgit.com/apps/cal-diy) (48,880 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Cal.diy has 48,880 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,893 commits in the last year; it replaces Calendly. - [Easy!Appointments](https://appsgit.com/apps/easy-appointments) (4,412 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP): Easy!Appointments has 4,412 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 171 commits in the last year; it replaces Calendly. - [LibreBooking](https://appsgit.com/apps/librebooking) (818 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): LibreBooking has 818 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 637 commits in the last year; it replaces Calendly. ## Documents and e-signatures - [Paperless-ngx](https://appsgit.com/apps/paperless-ngx) (46,308 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker, AI features): Paperless-ngx has 46,308 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,625 commits in the last year. - [Docuseal](https://appsgit.com/apps/docuseal) (18,658 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): Docuseal has 18,658 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 925 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat. - [Documenso](https://appsgit.com/apps/documenso) (15,336 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Documenso has 15,336 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 695 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat. - [Stirling-PDF](https://appsgit.com/apps/stirling-pdf) (93,634 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Stirling-PDF has 93,634 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,925 commits in the last year; it replaces Adobe Acrobat. ## Video calls and team chat - [Jitsi Meet](https://appsgit.com/apps/jitsi-meet) (30,044 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Jitsi Meet has 30,044 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 797 commits in the last year; it replaces Zoom and Google Meet. - [Mattermost](https://appsgit.com/apps/mattermost) (39,271 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Mattermost has 39,271 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,913 commits in the last year; it replaces Slack. - [Element](https://appsgit.com/apps/element) (13,542 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript): Element has 13,542 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,689 commits in the last year; it replaces Slack and Discord. ## Helpdesk - [Zammad](https://appsgit.com/apps/zammad) (5,981 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby): Zammad has 5,981 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,422 commits in the last year; it replaces Zendesk and Intercom. - [FreeScout](https://appsgit.com/apps/freescout) (4,585 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): FreeScout has 4,585 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 679 commits in the last year; it replaces Zendesk and Intercom. ## Security and identity - [Keycloak](https://appsgit.com/apps/keycloak) (37,156 stars, Apache-2.0, Java, Docker): Keycloak has 37,156 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,157 commits in the last year; it replaces Auth0 and Okta. - [authentik](https://appsgit.com/apps/authentik) (25,859 stars, MIT, Python, Docker): authentik has 25,859 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 5,375 commits in the last year; it replaces Auth0 and Okta. - [Vaultwarden](https://appsgit.com/apps/vaultwarden) (68,572 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): Vaultwarden has 68,572 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 181 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password. ## How this list was made - Apps were picked by hand from the appsgit catalog for each job, then checked against the snapshot: unknown or archived projects and projects with no commit in two years are dropped automatically. - Inside each section the curated order is kept, most broadly useful first; an app appears only once on the page. - Stars, license, Docker and activity facts come from the GitHub API as of October 2026. ## FAQ ### Is OpenEMR HIPAA compliant? Software alone is never HIPAA compliant; compliance depends on how it is hosted, secured and operated. OpenEMR gives you a self-hosted electronic health record, and you remain responsible for encryption, access control, audit logging, backups and business associate agreements. ### Can a small clinic self-host this stack? Yes, most of these apps run on a single server, and all but a few ship Docker images. A clinic without IT staff should still budget for someone to handle updates, backups and security, or use a managed host that signs the agreements your rules require. ### Is OpenEMR free? Yes. OpenEMR is open-source software released under the GPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Can I run this stack with Docker? 14 of the 17 apps here publish Docker images, including OpenEMR, OpenELIS Global and Cal.diy, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups. ## Related questions - [What are the best open source AI tools for hospitals?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-hospitals) - [What is the best open source software for e-commerce and retail?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-ecommerce) - [What are the best open source AI tools for e-commerce stores?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-ecommerce) - [What is the best open source software for real estate agencies?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-real-estate) - [What are the best open source AI tools for real estate agents?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-real-estate) - [What is the best open source AI CRM?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-crm) - [What open source software should a startup use?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-startups) - [What are the best open source AI tools for startups?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-startups) ## See also - [All health & fitness apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/health-fitness) - [All booking & scheduling apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/booking-scheduling) - [All document management apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/document-management) - [All video conferencing & VoIP apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/video-conferencing) - [Open-source alternatives to Calendly](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/calendly) - [Open-source alternatives to DocuSign](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/docusign) - [Open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/adobe-acrobat) - [Open-source alternatives to Zoom](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/zoom) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Meet](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-meet) - [Open-source alternatives to Slack](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/slack) - [Cal.diy vs Easy!Appointments](https://appsgit.com/compare/cal-diy-vs-easy-appointments) - [Keycloak vs authentik](https://appsgit.com/compare/keycloak-vs-authentik) - [Paperless-ngx vs Docspell](https://appsgit.com/compare/paperless-ngx-vs-docspell) - [Jitsi Meet vs BigBlueButton](https://appsgit.com/compare/jitsi-meet-vs-bigbluebutton) - [Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat](https://appsgit.com/compare/mattermost-vs-rocket-chat) - [Mattermost vs Zulip](https://appsgit.com/compare/mattermost-vs-zulip) - [How to self-host Paperless-ngx with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/paperless-ngx) - [How to self-host Authentik with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/authentik) - [How to self-host Vaultwarden with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/vaultwarden) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hospitals Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.