The IHE European Connectathon hold in Bern, Switzerland, from May 21th to 25th, 2012 expanded this year to include European nations connecting health records in the large-scale European project epSOS and will host satellite meetings for key e-health organisations. An intensive ‘connectivity marathon’, the core testing activity at Connectathon for the interoperability of applications used in health information systems will gather more than 300 information technology engineers testing more than 120 systems over five days.
Connectathon 2012 also tested the expanded portfolio of IHE profiles that assure the seamless flow of patient information. For the first time ever the new CrossEnterprise Document Workflow (XDW) profile, which enables multiple caregivers to manage patient-centric workflows.
In the Laboratory domain, vendors this year tested the Laboratory Analytical Workflow profile. The maturity of tools developed by IHE-Europe were demonstrated during Connectathon. The Gazelle test management platform that successfully managed the North
American Connectathon held in January, 2012 in Chicago will connect health IT systems in real-time in Bern, as well as enabling the simultaneous log-in of hundreds of engineers.
This year the European Connectathon in Bern was managed for the first time by IHEServices, a new activity within IHE-Europe that offers neutral interoperability services for IHE-Europe and other stakeholders such as national and regional eHealth networks, vendors or hospitals. IHE-Services builds further on the team and platform that successfully conducted the previous Connectathons.
The Projectathon returns this year to Connectathon, a testing event that was run in parallel for the large-scale European Patient Smart Open Service (epSOS) project.
New nations starting to participate in epSOS this year were able to test the exchange of vital patient data across borders from Bern, connecting remotely with experienced partner nations that validated systems last year. These hands-on, real-time testing activities are attracting key participants from e-health organisations across Europe, creating week-long opportunities for discussion, dialogue and networking.
Organisations participating include the IHE International Pharmacy group, IHE-Europe and epSOS. During Connectathon the national IHE Suisse initiative under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Council plans a full-day conference, primarily in German, dedicated to key issues for that nation’s expanding e-health programs.
Sources: www.connectathon2012.org, www.ihe-europe.net.
