Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) is an initiative promoting and supporting the integration of systems in the healthcare enterprise. Sponsored by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and many other organizations, it brings together medical professionals and the healthcare information and imaging systems industry. The goal is to improve the efficiency of clinical practice by considering the information availability, the workflow and the compatibility of cross vendor environments.
Within the technical framework of the IHE, problem solution scenarios (so called 'Integration Profiles'), are defined. They describe the transfer ('Transactions') of data between different medical equipment ('Actors'). Based on the Integration Profiles the vendors test their equipment. The following IHE Integration Statements demonstrate the capability to interoperate in compliance with the IHE Integration Profile 'Consistent Presentation of Images' and 'Scheduled Workflow'. The IHE Integration Statements are intended for aycan customers to know precisely the IHE Integration capabilities currently offered by aycan products.
The Consistent Presentation of Images Integration Profile specifies a number of transactions that maintain the consistency of presentation for grayscale images and their presentation state information (including user annotations, shutters, flip/rotate, display area, and zoom). It also defines a standard contrast curve, the Grayscale Standard Display Function, against which different types of display and hardcopy output devices can be calibrated.
Image Manager: A system that provides functions related to safe data storage and image data handling. It supplies image availability information to the Department System Scheduler.
The Scheduled Workflow Integration Profile will be extended with the possibility to match patient record and order history with acquired images of an unidentified patient (e.g. in a trauma case) or a misidentified patient. In case of the trauma case, a subsequent reconciliation of the acquired images (whether without a prior registration or under a generic registration) before the patients identity could be determined is allowed by this integration profile. Forthwith and later when the patients official registration and order information is entered into the Order Placer, ADT and Order Filler Systems, this images can be acquired and interpreted. This matches this information with the acquired image set, exceedingly facilitate these exception-handling situations.
Portable Data for Imaging further standardizes the distribution of imaging related information on interchange media. This allows users who receive interchange media to more reliably import, process, archive, display or print the imaging related information. The Profile specifies CDs as the physical media, with additional options to handle DVDs and USB Drives.
Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS) is focused on providing a standards-based specification for managing the sharing of documents between any healthcare enterprise, ranging from a private physician office to a clinic to an acute care in-patient facility and personal health record systems.
Document Source: The Document Source Actor is the producer of documents. It is responsible for sending documents and metadata to recipient.
Document Consumer: The Document Consumer Actor queries for documents meeting certain criteria, and may retrieve selected documents.
The DICOM Conformance Statements for aycan print and aycan store are offered on request.
1 The system has been tested at the IHE Connectathon 2002 in Paris and 2003 in Aachen.
2 The system has been tested at the IHE Connectathon 2006 in Barcelona.
3 aycan store is fully compliant but has not yet been tested at an IHE Connectathon.
4 aycan workstation is fully compliant but has not yet been tested at an IHE Connectathon.
5 aycan smartvisit is fully compliant but has not yet been tested at an IHE Connectathon.
Patient Information Reconciliation (PIR) coordinates reconciliation of the patient record when images are acquired for unidentified (e.g. trauma), or misidentified patients.
Further profiles/actors are supported but not demonstrated at an IHE Connectathon.