The association IHE Austria – Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise – is dedicated to furthering the combination of IT and medical technology by spreading and improving the IHE framework for IT integration and data transmission in healthcare.
The objective of IHE Austria is to provide support for the organisational and technical implementation of e-health applications such as the electronic health record (EHR) in the Austrian healthcare system. In this, the focus is on improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of medical care.
The IHE framework is intended to serve as a basis for interoperability in this context.
IHE Austria has set itself the following three main tasks to achieve these objectives:
1. Lobbying and promotion in Austria
The awareness-raising, or lobbying, activities should transport the following central messages: Media discontinuity and proprietary interfaces create unforeseeable costs and quality problems; IHE ensures flexibility, sustainability, quality, and economy for the client.
2. Establishment of seminars and training
The establishment of seminars and training will help to raise awareness and to create standardised training on the topic of IHE.
3. International collaboration
International collaboration takes the form of representation on the committees of IHE Europe and IHE International as well as participation in working groups.
Working groups
IHE Austria is setting up the following three working groups for its focus areas:
1. Seminars and Training
The IHE Austria Seminars and Training working group has undertaken to define “IHE Expertise” in multiple expert profiles and to highlight persons with this expertise. The call for this came from individuals who are implementing or will soon be called on to implement IHE for healthcare providers.
The following overview shows that the Seminars and Training working group is not involved in the development of a quality seal or certificate. This remains the purview of international and European processes.
Three expert profiles have currently been compiled (strategic IHE consultant, IHE organisation advisor, IHE technical expert), and the corresponding competence profiles are being prepared. Further expert profiles have been adopted but will be pursued pending the completion of the first three profiles (IHE procurement, EHR CDA implementation, EHR CDA laboratory implementation, central patient index integration, e-medication implementation).
The first draft of an assessment form has been completed.
All of these documents are being discussed in the Seminars and Training working group. The working group is also seeking contact with other education institutions to document and coordinate the training content and forms.
Interested parties can sign up for the working group by e-mail at office@ihe-austria.at.
2. E-Medication
The objective of this working group is to contribute to the success of e-medication by providing advice and support, and in this way to increase the quality of treatment for patients and healthcare service providers.
The existing position papers of the E-Pharmacy working group of IHE Austria will be published here. If you would like to receive these before their online publication, please send a request to office@ihe-austria.at.
If you are interested in participating in the working group, please contact:
the association office: office@ihe-austria.at or 01-58839 67,
or Jürgen Brandstätter directly at: J.Brandstaetter@codewerk.at
3. Procurement
The objectives of the Procurement working group are:
– Dissemination of knowledge about IHE solution options
– Creation of templates for requests for offers
– By products and product groups
– By IHE domains/profiles
Safe harbour discussion Evaluation of submitted tenders, market monitoring, implementation experience, experiences in further development
The working group is headed by Alexander Schanner. The first meeting is being planned. The date will be coordinated among the interested parties. The meeting will take place in Vienna.
If you are interested in participating in the working group, please contact:
the association office: office@ihe-austria.at or 01-58839 67,
or Alexander Schanner at: alexander.schanner@holding.lknoe.at
Editorial platform
IHE Austria has undertaken to promote knowledge transfer and communication about IHE-relevant topics with interested professionals. The web site www.ihe-austria.at and the newsletter are central communication media of the association.
In order to provide valuable and user-relevant content, IHE Austria launched an open editorial platform. Everyone is invited to write articles that are relevant for the industry. A text fee is provided as compensation.
What topics are eligible?
- Interesting IHE projects in planning, in Austria or abroad
- Success stories: successfully implemented IHE projects in Austria or abroad
- Industry-relevant background information
- IHE services or products from manufacturers or service providers: These must meet the quality requirements of a successful conformity assessment or Connectathon
The team will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Contacts
Barbara Pfeiffer-Zacek
Tel.: 01 588 39 60
E-mail: office@ihe-austria.at
Board Members
DI Dr. Alexander Schanner
Member of the Managing Board
NÖ Landesgesundheitsagentur
alexander.schanner@noe-lga.at
IHE as a vision of dedicated users and manufacturers of medical technology and IT systems has become reality in the form of products that are available on the market and systems that are in practical use. The presentations and showcases at the annual IHE Days never fail to deliver impressive examples.
DI Jürgen Brandstätter
Member of the Managing Board
CodeWerk Software Services and Development GmbH
j.brandstaetter@codewerk.at
IHE is in a state of change! The groundbreaking phase is now making way for the consolidation phase. This is reflected in the varied activities of IHE Austria.
Dr. Edith Bulant-Wodak
Member of the Managing Board
ELGA GmbH
Edith.Bulant-Wodak@elga.gv.at
Mag. Florian Schnurer, LL.M.
Member of the Managing Board
FEEI – Association of the Austrian Electrical and Electronics Industries
schnurer@feei.at
IHE Austria reaches providers and users of standardised solutions far beyond the IHE community and thus promotes the importance of IHE standards for the healthcare industry as a whole.
DI Dr. Alexander Kollmann
Member of the Managing Board
Gemeinnützige Salzburger Landeskliniken Betriebsgesellschaft mbH
Networking and standardization are the basis for successful digitalization in the health sector. IHE ensures the efficient and sustainable implementation of interlocking IT solutions in hospitals, in the region and at national and international level.
Mag. Herwig Loidl, MBA Msc
Member of the Managing Board
FV UBIT, LOIDL Consulting GmbH
loidl@solo.at
IHE as a symbol of standardization in communication in the healthcare sector creates opportunities for the economy to promote interoperable solutions with high user benefits with manageable effort.
Co-Opted Board Members
Stefanie Gmeiner, BSc MSc
Co-Opted Member of the Managing Board
Österreichische Ärztekammer
As the professional association of Austrian doctors and with increasing digitalisation in the healthcare sector, the Austrian Medical Association supports standardised solutions and interoperability through IHE, particularly to improve patient care and optimise processes.
Dr. Stefan Sauermann
Co-Opted Member of the Managing Board
University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien
stefan.sauermann@technikum-wien.at
The current positive developments surrounding the legal framework for the EHR have been extremely positive for the standardisation of healthcare informatics. After years of preparation, the potential offered by IT can now be used better to support medical processes. This makes a dialogue between users and manufacturers in IHE and elsewhere all the more important.
Ing. Rainer Schmidradler, MSc
Co-Opted Member of the Managing Board
Sozialversicherungs-Chipkarten Betriebs- und Errichtungsges.m.b.H. – SVC
rainer.schmidradler@svc.co.at
IHE offers the „operating instructions“ for the use of existing standards and thus supports the seamless interoperability of IT systems in medicine. This leads to a sustainable increase in quality and efficiency in the healthcare system.
Ing. Eduard Schebesta
Co-Opted Member of the Managing Board
ÖMS Verband österreichischer Medizinsoftware–Hersteller
e.schebesta@monty.cc
IHE is a welcome development for providers of software systems in the ELGA environment, as standardisation always reduces costs.
