Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise

IHE ( acronym for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise ) is an initiative of users and manufacturers with the aim to standardize the exchange of data between IT systems in healthcare and harmonize. The implementation of the medical processes between the systems and the creation of interoperability are in the foreground. IHE formulated to practical requirements in so-called use cases, identify relevant standards and develops technical guides, profiles with which a manufacturer can implement and test the product. At the international " Connectathon " test the manufacturers have their systems with each other and prepare them for practical use.

In more than 200 products, one or more IHE profiles have already been implemented. IHE is supported by the German Radiological Society, the Association of Health IT ( bvitg ), the Central Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry ( ZVEI), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society ( HIMSS ), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and many other organizations.

Organization

IHE is organized internationally, with IHE Europe acts as an umbrella of 12 European national organizations. Within Europe, the IHE committees

Established. In Germany the IHE Germany eV was founded, whose organization is in relation to selected IHE domains, so there is contact for IT -I, laboratory, cardiology, radiology and PCC in addition to the Executive Board and the management.

Results and Procedure

IHE published technical frameworks ( frameworks) as guidelines for the implementation in the companies. The framework is created in various working groups and published the results as profiles for commenting and discussion. Then sample implementations are tested ( Trial Implementation ). The experience gained from flow back into the framework. Existing standards, especially the common HL7 and DICOM are maintained and enhanced.

The following ' domains ' exist:

Within a domain, the workflow from the real world is in the profiles described, for example, patient enrollment, examination requirement, examination of a modality, storage, distribution and evaluation of an X-ray image and administrations of drug. The communication processes between different information systems and actors will be defined.

One profile include specific roles or functions ( Actors ). A single computer can assume multiple roles, eg he may be the image distribution Actor and Actor of the image archiving. Between the Actors transactions are defined. A transaction can be, for example, the requirement of specific data or the announcement of a state. It is described more precisely the steps and interfaces via which the information is to be transported. The same transaction can occur in several profiles, even in different frameworks. For example, the transaction is " Patient Registration " in almost all frameworks before.

Companies can guarantee to one or more IHE profiles in the form of so-called integration statements the conformity of their products.

Connectathon

Once a year, organize IHE USA, IHE -Europe and IHE Connectathon Japan a so-called (also Connect-a - thon written ). On a Connectathon manufacturers and software developers have the opportunity to test their supported IHE profiles with each other. Participation is conditional on a successful test run against a reference software (eg MESA tools), which is provided by IHE available.