Medical Device Link.

Originally Published MX September/October 2004

SPECIAL REPORT: IT IN HEALTHCARE

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) is not an organization but an initiative sponsored by several leading organizations. It was started in November 1998 by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Radiological Society of North America. Last year, the American College of Cardiology also became a sponsor.

IHE's members include experts in a wide range of healthcare fields, but the initiative is distinctive in having a more defined focus than most groups with an interest in healthcare IT. Its avowed purpose is to drive the adoption of standards across the entire healthcare universe, in order to enable health information to be passed through the entire system. Such standards are, in effect, the universal language for transmitting digital information in healthcare, and the emphasis on standards determines the IHE agenda.

For example, a central activity of the initiative involves establishing integration profiles that specify how standards are to be used. At present, profiles exist for the fields of radiology, cardiology, laboratory medicine, and information technology infrastructure. The integration profiles enable interoperability both within and across multiple enterprises.

IHE also sponsors "Connectathons" at which system suppliers gather to test the interoperability of their equipment. As medical devices increasingly embody information technologies of various types and for various applications, manufacturers will likely find IHE a resource of some importance. The initiative's focus on standards and understanding of healthcare technologies make it a natural point of reference for companies that are developing IT-based medical products.

Information about the IHE can be found via the Web site at www.rsna.org/IHE/mission.shtml.

Copyright ©2004 MX