Future of HIT Lies By The Shores of Lake Como?
From today’s edition of the Health Information Technology e-newsletter (HITs):
Health Level 7 granted $348,000 for IT conference
All roads may lead to Rome, but the search for a path to health information technology interoperability will lead to Bellagio, Italy.
Health Level 7, the healthcare standards development organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich., announced receipt of a $348,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to convene a conference with the World Health Organization “to address the path to sustainability, interoperable health technology to support better health and health systems” in developing countries, according to an HL7 news release.
The proposed Path to Interoperability conference will be held in July at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center near Lake Como.
This is one conference I’d attend for the scenery inside and out - but the HL7 website doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the organization is on-top of HIT developments. Check out the cluttered design on the homepage here.
According to the “About” section, HL7 produces ANSI accredited standards (specs/protocols) for clinical & administrative data.
More about HL7, an all-volunteer nonprofit:
“Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, Health Level Seven is like other SDOs in that it is a not-for-profit volunteer organization. Its members– providers, vendors, payers, consultants, government groups and others who have an interest in the development and advancement of clinical and administrative standards for healthcare—develop the standards. Like all ANSI-accredited SDOs, Health Level Seven adheres to a strict and well-defined set of operating procedures that ensures consensus, openness and balance of interest. A frequent misconception about Health Level Seven (and presumably about the other SDOs) is that it develops software. In reality, Health Level Seven develops specifications, the most widely used being a messaging standard that enables disparate healthcare applications to exchange keys sets of clinical and administrative data.”
It’s also interesting that the Rockefeller Foundation is doling out funds for HIT research in concert with the WHO.
It seems like Rockefeller could have gone with a more established research consortium that has a broader range than standards development (i.e. implementation and use), with deep ties to both academic and commercial sectors of the HIT/ICT sphere, based in Europe - like ICMCC.
So let’s move from ‘all talk’ to ’some action…’ - here’s how I’d suggest adding significant value for “Path to Interoperability.”
First, collaborate, collaborate, collaborate.
Second, go global.
A US standards firm hosting an event in Italy needs additional European partners. In fact, the European group Semantic Health is also WHO sponsored…wonder if the two groups know of each other’s existence?
So - a strategic collaboration between ICMCC and HL7 would create a more productive event and combine research from both sides of the Atlantic, a fitting goal for a WHO -sponsored event.
To really achieve a robust discussion surrounding “the path to HIT interoperability” you need representation from 5 types of groups.
Here are the groups and suggestions for populating the conversation with constituents from each:
1. Standards (HL7 - US, Semantic Health - UK/Global)
2. Certification (I’d suggest CCHIT - US)
3. Academia/Research (ICMCC, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Open University of Catalonia, School of Information and Communication Science, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s ProjectHealth)
4. Commercial (?)
5. Thinktank/Design (31volts -Netherlands, ThinkPublic - UK, IDEO - US, Demos - UK)
What are your suggestions? Leave them in the comments section and I’ll email them to HL7.
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