IHE USA News
Interoperability Becoming Operational in Digital Dentistry
Vendors of dental systems are invited to participate in testing their systems for conformance to the new interoperability standards at the IHE Connectathon--the week of January 13, 2014, in Chicago. Annually thereafter, the American Dental Association (ADA) and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) will hold the Connectathon for vendors of digital dental health care information and imaging systems to test the implementation of interoperability standards. Read full article!
IHE USA Certification Testing Proves Successful at the North American Connectathon
IHE USA successfully completed the inaugural Certification Testing event held in conjunction with the recent IHE 2013 North American Connectathon in Chicago. Eight vendors participated in this first-ever pilot event, and performed testing to specified requirements for the IHE USA Certification pilot conducted by ICSA Labs, a third-party testing and certification body. As a pilot, the learnings of this inaugural event will be evaluated to clarify and improve processes going forward. Additionally, IHE USA is forming an Industry Advisory Panel, and ICSA Labs is forming a Technical Advisory Workgroup to provide guidance in evaluating the pilot program. Read full press release!
ONC's S&I Framework praises IHE USA Certification Pilot
In an article entitled "Debrief on the 2013 IHE Connectathon," published in the February S&I Framework Newsletter, the new IHE USA Certification pilot receives praise as a "powerful model for the health IT industry," and for taking "another step toward advancing interoperability." Additionally, the article features information on the practical application of certification testing as well as highlights from the North American Connectathon 2013. Read the full article!
North American Connectathon 2013 Provides Testing Ground for Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements
In an effort to advance interoperability in the U.S., IHE USA and the Health Story Project offered Health Level Seven’s (HL7) Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture® (C-CDA) standard as part of the testing process at the IHE North American (NA) Connectathon 2013. When implemented into electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs), HL7’s C-CDA contributes a critical component of a patient’s medical record, including the physician’s progress notes, discharge summaries, and other clinical documents. U.S. physicians create over a billion clinical notes each year. These notes contain most of a patient’s clinical records, and most EHRs are not capable of integrating this type of data into their systems. Continue to read the full press release for more details, and visit the Consolidated CDA web page to view the full test results summary.
IHE NA Connectathon Expands to Advance Interoperability of EHRs
Significant steps were taken toward advancing the interoperability of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) at the IHE NA Connectathon and Conference 2013 which took place last week at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, IL. IHE USA’s 14th annual interoperability testing event introduced several new features to complement the events core foundation- conformance testing of IHE profiles. This year, eight IHE domains were tested on 160+ systems among 550 of the industry’s top engineers. New features included testing of HL7’s Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA), a new qualification in standards and certification criteria for Meaningful Use Stage 2 in the US. IHE USA also introduced a new Certification Pilot Program with eight participating vendors. Read the full press release for details on the new testing features, outcomes, and a recap of the one-day educational conference.
IHE USA President, Joyce Sensmeier, Quoted in Healthcare IT News
In the recently published article, "Long, Winding Road for IHE," President Joyce Sensmeier explains the progress and evolution of IHE as well as where IHE is headed in the future. Also, the article features the importance of IHE Connectathons as a practical application toward interoperability. Read the full article!
IHE USA and Health Story Advance Sharing of the Patient Story
A patient’s clinical history offers detailed and valuable health information, data not always available in an accessible format in a digital medical record. To help simplify sharing that patient story with clinical data, IHE USA and the Health Story Project will offer testing of Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture, known as Consolidated CDA, at the annual IHE North American Connectathon 2013, where health IT systems test information exchange across organizational boundaries to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of those systems.
IHE’s North American Connectathon will include testing of the Health Story supported Consolidated CDA® during the largest health IT testing event in the United States. More details about Consolidated CDA testing at the NA Connectathon coming soon. Learn more about the NA Connectathon registration opening August 22, 2012, online.
Read the full Press Release here.
Testing Interoperability of Health IT Systems, 2013 Connectathon Set for
Jan. 28 - Feb.2
Now in its 14th year, the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) USA’s North American Connectathon includes a one-day conference and the largest health IT testing event in the United States.
CHICAGO – (April 12, 2012) – Bringing engineers and IT architects together to test interoperability, the IHE North America (NA) Connectathon 2013 comes to Chicago on Jan. 28-Feb. 2, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive. The Connectathon continues its substantial year-to-year growth as the benefits of interoperability, where health information systems work together and share information across organizational boundaries to improve healthcare delivery, become more evident. In January 2012, the Connectathon reached record-breaking participation, with over 120 participating organizations testing more than 150 systems advancing the health IT industry and patient safety.
As in the previous years, IHE USA will also sponsor the one-day IHE NA Connectathon Conference on Jan. 30, 2013. This event is considered the cornerstone of the Connectathon, because it provides networking and educational opportunities focused on interoperability. Attendees gain a firsthand look at the Connectathon’s tools, systems and are granted special access to the testing floor that is accelerating healthcare technology and interact with a preeminent cadre of experts and enthusiasts.
Registration for the Connectathon and Conference 2013 opens in August 2012. Visit the website (www.iheusa.org) for updates.
For more information, contact: Joyce Lofstrom/HIMSS at 312-915-9237 or email jlofstrom@himss.org.
Scenes from the 'Lollapalooza of HIT'
IHE USA's N.A. Connectathon 2012 is featured in HealthData Management's website. James St. Clair, HIMSS director of interoperability and standards, calls the Connectathon the "Lollapalooza of HIT," where collaboration enables achievements that wouldn't occur in the labs of the individual companies. Read the full article on the HealthData Management website.