Fred Trotter is a renowned hacktivist and advocate for social change through Open Source Health Software. He has made significant contributions to the Open Source Health Informatics community, notably being the sole representative invited by Congress to testify on the definition of ‘meaningful use’ for federal health care incentives. His influence extends to negotiations with CCHIT, the leading EHR certification body, highlighting his commitment to advancing open-source solutions in healthcare.
As the original author of FreeB, the world’s first GPL medical billing engine, Trotter has been recognized for his pioneering work, receiving the LinuxMedNews achievement award in 2004. He has served as an editor for the Open Source EHR review project with the American Medical Informatics Association and is a key member of WorldVistA. Additionally, Trotter developed Astronaut Shuttle, the first cloud-based VA VistA offering, reinforcing his role as a leader in Free and Open Source medical software.
Trotter is a sought-after speaker on health informatics, presenting at prestigious conferences such as SCALE, OSCON, and DefCon. His expertise has garnered attention from various media outlets, including WIRED and NPR, where he has been quoted on Health Information Technology topics. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science and multiple degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Trinity University.
Before his foray into health software, Trotter consulted for VeriSign on HIPAA security for major health institutions. He combines a rich background in information security, having been trained at the Air Force Information Warfare Center, with a passion for transforming healthcare through technology and innovation.