Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) is an initiative by healthcare professionals (radiology, cardiology and laboratory) and industry (AGFA Healthcare, GE Medical Systems, Konica Minolta MI, Siemens, among others) to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information. The focus of the IHE is to construct the framework for seamlessly sharing health information across the entire healthcare enterprise.
The IHE promotes (not creates) the coordinated use of established DICOM (Digital Imaging Communication in Medicine) and HL7 (Health Level) communication standards to address specific clinical needs to support patient care. This initiative is similar to Continua (see June 16 blog entry), which strives to foster "independence through establishing a system of interoperable personal telehealth solutions that empower people and organizations to better manage health and wellness.”
The benefits of IHE include:
○ Safety through the reduction of medical errors
○ Savings through lower implementation costs and more efficient workflow
○ Satisfaction through better informed medical decisions and faster results for both patient and physician
The centerpiece of IHE's testing process is the Connectathon – a weeklong interoperability testing event. This event allows participating companies to test their implementation of IHE capabilities with corresponding systems from industry peers.
A giant step forward for IHE was the