HL7 and the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative have renewed their cooperation agreement, pledging to work together more closely and to provide more clarity about their respective roles.
In a joint statement of understanding, HL7 and IHE said they will work to improve communication and coordination of schedules and projects to help expedite the development and adoption of the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard. They will also seek to provide more clarity for the community and marketplace about both organizations' roles, according to HL7 International CEO Dr. Charles Jaffe, PhD.
"With the development of FHIR, HL7 has introduced new processes that may seem to overlap with IHE," Jaffe said in a statement. "Therefore, we will seek to clarify how each organization uses terms such as profile and connectathon and, most importantly, the respective roles our organizations play."
Both organizations are improving coordination of road maps and release plans so that IHE profiles can reference the latest available release of FHIR for IHE connectathon testing. In addition, testing at IHE connectathons will help assess the maturity of FHIR resources, profiles, and implementation guides, according to the groups.
"IHE's experience in implementing workable standards-based solutions for applications and healthcare enterprises can help refine FHIR and allow organizations to more confidently adopt FHIR to support applications to enhance interoperability," according to the statement.
The organizations noted that four IHE profiles based on FHIR were successfully tested at the recent IHE Europe Connectathon in April. They have also agreed to jointly promote education and the adoption of interoperability standards to the health IT community in events such as the 2017 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual meeting in Orlando, FL, and eHealth Week in Europe.
