MONDAY, 11/29/99 ~ EVENING EDITION
Experts express optimism on role of integration in everyday practice

BY BRENDA TILKE

The official unveiling of the RSNA's Integrated Healthcare Enterprise drew a packed audience of press, vendors, and physicians Monday, as a panel of electronic communications experts from the worlds of radiology and informatics outlined the goals of the first-year initiative.

The IHE is a collaborative effort between the RSNA and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The multimedia exhibit is designed to demonstrate connectivity between diagnostic imaging and information systems, and features 46 separate information and medical imaging systems operating in an integrated, open standards environment.

Nearly two dozen vendors agreed to move from proprietary systems toward an open architecture that would ease the unfettered exchange of information between departments and facilities.

"We needed a critical mass, a large enough group to agree and to set the tone for this demonstration," said Dr. R. Gilbert Jost, chair of the RSNA electronic communications committee.

 
Dr. Gilbert Jost, chairman of the RSNA's electronic communications committee, answers questions about the IHE initiative and demonstration at a press conference Monday.

A similar demonstration will be presented at the HIMSS meeting in April. Both RSNA and HIMSS officials stressed that success of the IHE hinges on the integrated use of established standards, including DICOM and HL7.

"This represents nearly two years of hard work by medical practitioners, standards experts, and industry representatives who recognize that systems operability is essential for high-quality, cost-effective patient care in the information age," said Paul Vegoda, a board director at HIMSS.

The demonstration featured vendors grouped into four simulated healthcare enterprise (SHE) groups. The systems in each group communicate according to defined profiles, following a patient through the entire encounter with the SHE. Expanded IHE demonstrations are slated to take place at future RSNA meetings, with each year showcasing more complex and in-depth information, according to Jost.