The Story of Open Integration Engine

How a community came together to preserve open source healthcare integration.

In 2006 Mirth Connect™ was established as a pioneering, open-source integration engine designed to tackle the complexities of healthcare data exchange, particularly with standards like HL7. Its powerful, graphical, and community-driven design made it a vital tool for connecting diverse IT systems, leading to an estimated 100,000 production instances being run in over 40 countries.

Following shifts in ownership and strategy, it was announced in early 2025 that all future releases of Mirth Connect™ would not be open source and would require a license. The community of users and contributors recognized a need to safeguard the project's original open-source mission and ensure its long-term viability.

Open Integration Engine (“OIE”) emerged as a “rescue fork” of the original codebase.

Motivation Behind OIE

Preserve Open Source

Guarantee the core technology remains free, accessible, and independent of commercial pressures.

Maintain Focus

Prioritize development and governance based on the direct needs of the implementation community.

Ensure Longevity

Create a dedicated, community-run project to evolve the platform for new integration challenges.

OIE continues the legacy, building on a proven foundation to provide a robust, community-governed integration solution for the future.

NovaMap is committed to building a robust set of hosting and operational support services for OIE to ensure the continued success of this remarkable product.