Connectathon is a five-day ‘connectivity marathon’ for testing the interoperability of health information systems.
The IHE-Europe Connectathon creates a unique opportunity to test health IT applications with systems and products from other vendors in a real-time environment.
For five days in a vast hall that is hard-wired for high speed internet, more than 300 IT engineers come together in a casual but intensely concentrated setting to interconnect more than 100 systems and collaboratively solve problems. According to participants, the cost of identifying and fixing a system bug during a Connectathon is 10 times less expensive and difficult than de-bugging a system once it is installed at a hospital of clinic.
A clear benefit of this week of intensive work are the results for each Connectathon published on the IHE-Europe website. Proof of compliance to IHE Technical Frameworkprovides health IT users an assurance that an application they plan to use is compatible with other IHE-tested systems. More and more hospitals now include a requirement for IHE compliance in their Requests for Proposals to be sure a new application will interoperate with other healthcare systems.
Here are some highlights from the 2011 Connectathon in Pisa, Italy. You can find a Gallery from the Connectathons here.
Sources
http://www.ihe-europe.net/
Informatique Médicale,TIC & Pharmacie
