HITCH · Healthcare Interoperability Testing and Conformance Harmonization

eHealth, the beneficial application of ICT-based systems and solutions, has been identified as potentially the key enabler to fundamentally improve patient safety in clinical contexts" . However, with ICT becoming a mission critical component of healthcare processes, the interoperability of the multitude of systems that together form the eHealth infrastructure of a hospital, region or nation, is becoming a critical factor for a safe and efficient delivery of care. Vendors, users, patients and authorities need to agree on practical solutions to validate and assert the interoperability of eHealth systems by means of appropriate testing and labelling/certification schemesThe aim of the HITCH (Healthcare Interoperability Testing and Conformance Harmonisation) project is to involve major stakeholders being already at the heart of Interoperability issues for defining and agreeing on a roadmap to establish a foundation for the Interoperability Conformance Testing of information systems in the field of Healthcare. The project will evaluate existing approaches and propose an achievable Interoperability Conformance Testing foundation deployable starting in 2011. Potential gaps in existing initiatives will be identified, as well as evolutions that should be undertaken over the next five years. The roadmap will thereby identify specific needs in terms of process improvements and tools development along with supporting research.The initial elements of this roadmap will be evaluated in a real-world setting with actual healthcare IT applications, with the goal to verify the immediate next steps of the proposed Interoperability Conformance Testing Roadmap and establish a good level of credibility from to the major stakeholders: vendors, users, patients and authorities."