IHE-Europe was thrilled to be part of the Athens Digital Health Week, surrounded by a diverse community of enthusiasts and experts from across Europe and having the opportunity to attend several events and workshops.
During the opening of the plenary session, Andreas Klingler, IHE-Europe Vendor co-chair, participated in a panel on Standards and Stakeholders, highlighting the significance of global interoperability standards and cautioning against external product certification by notified bodies.
Andreas Klingler delivered a keynote address on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) during the second day, following welcome speeches by Greek Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, and President of the National eHealth Authority (NeHA), Prof. Schizas. He emphasized IHE’s role in reducing risk and expediting eHealth project implementation, particularly within the EHDS framework.
IHE-Europe additionally hosted two ManaGIDITH training sessions:
The first one to understand the role of IHE governance in healthcare interoperability, providing participants with examples to navigate governance structures and understand interoperability frameworks. Additionally, it aimed to foster comprehension of the testing continuum and an understanding on how to develop effective specification and test plans for healthcare interoperability initiatives.
The second one to have a better understanding about IHE best practices and experiences, targeting industry professionals and users alike. Key objectives included understanding the structured methodology of IHE, showcasing successful implementation projects across Europe (with examples from Switzerland, Austria, France and Belgium), and enabling participants to apply these insights in their contexts for advancing healthcare standards and interoperability.
Moreover, IHE-Europe animated a workshop on the XpanDH readiness model in collaboration with the XpanDH project. The workshop aimed to familiarize participants with the developed readiness model, emphasizing its relevance for upcoming projects, especially within the xShare framework. Representatives from various stakeholders, including the European Commission, users, and vendors, provided practical insights on aligning and benefiting from the EEHRxF and the XpanDH readiness model, fostering a collaborative environment for exploring its reuse in future healthcare projects.
Finally, the week was punctuated by the launch of the xShare project in which IHE-Europe and IHE Catalyst are one of the partners working together to create a “yellow button” for giving patients access to their data in the European Patient Summary.
Last but not least a meeting of the IHE-Europe Executive Committee with members of the HL7 Europe board was organized to foster collaboration in the following years.
To summarize the events of the week, IHE-Europe vendor co-chair Andreas Klingler said:
The Athens Digital Health Week proved again that interoperability is about people, not technology.
