Standards and interoperability education at MedInfo 2023

Sydney will host MedInfo 2023 — the 19th world congress on medical and health informatics —  at the International Convention Centre from 8–12 July 2023, where the theme will be ‘The future is accessible’.

In line with the overall focus on a digitally enabled health sector, where data is not locked in silos, there will be several opportunities to attend educational workshops on standards and interoperability.

Presented by the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) on behalf of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), the #MEDINFO23 weekend program is expected to attract a range of delegates including the health tech professionals working with implementations and the delivery of digital health.

AIDH suggests the conference will be the perfect opportunity to learn practical information to assist your healthcare organisation and get answers to questions such as:

• Why are standards so important to enable digital change in health care?
• Why is FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) becoming an industry standard?
• Why is interoperability being discussed again?
   

With an international and national audience, delegates will have the opportunity to learn from world leaders on this topic — and to advance collective thinking through targeted case studies and examples from overseas including the International Patient Summary.

The weekend stream is facilitated by Kate Ebrill FAIDH, Product and Services Lead CSIRO and Co-Industry Chair #MEDINFO23, and Prof Trish Williams FAIDH, CISCO Chair and Professor of Digital Health Systems, Flinders University.

Saturday, 8 July 2023 (Day One)

Making data real and actionable

This session will present a comprehensive overview of the application of standards, how systems and data can connect through the adoption of standards, and how practical change can be actioned.

Keynote speakers will share national and international approaches to interoperability, the latest advancements in SNOMED terminology, practical insights in FHIR, the importance of driving industry collaboration and connection through IHE, and the use of resulting data for research and decision-making.

A workable case study on population health and Centres of Disease Control will be presented to ground our understanding and learning.

This day will be a precursor to Day 2 which will focus on the International Patient Summary as a strategic initiative in Europe and other parts of the world.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand the standards eco-system
• Understand the key standards which support consistent data definition, data access, data sharing and data use to support interoperability between systems and population health (with a Centre of Disease Control example)
• Practical examples and links to resources to take home for reference.

Sunday, 9 July 2023 (Day Two)

Data access — Going global

Day two will see the standards and interoperability stream come together with senior leaders in CXIO and International Policy Forum sessions to focus on the significant global initiative: International Patient Summary (IPS).

The International Patient Summary (IPS) is a standard for sharing essential health information and is supported by global programs for digital health, such as the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP). It was also endorsed by the G7 and G20 as a key focus for interoperability. The IPS is an electronic record extract containing essential healthcare information to support “unplanned, cross-border care”.

The IPS is an FHIR document standard and establishes how structured data can be shared worldwide using controlled vocabularies and terminologies such as LOINC and SNOMED CT.

Delegates will hear about the work that has been completed to date, the policy imperatives, ties to citizen centric services and other relevant topics. This day will go from strategic overview into more detailed discussion on the IPS.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand what is meant by IPS and International Patient Access
• Understand the core components of the IPS
• Understand the global policy position on the IPS
• Understand what a Core FHIR Implementation Guide and its relationship is to an IPS
• Understand how different countries are progressing with implementing the IPS
• Understand where to go for more resources to get started.
   

The event is supported by CSIRO, HL7 Australia, HL7 International, SNOMED International and IHE Australia.

One-day, three-day or full conference delegate passes are available with early bird pricing until 14 April 2023.

Image credit: iStock.com/Natali_Mis