It’s my pleasure to make you aware of the next HL7 FHIR Connectathon taking place on Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7 in Madrid, Spain. This event takes place in conjunction with the May 2017 International Conference & Working Group Meeting.
Hard to believe, but it’s already the 15th one and we look forward to many more.
If you are thinking about attending this Connectathon, but you’re not sure if it is right for you, or even where to start, as one of the organizers, I can help.
The HL7 FHIR® Applications Roundtable: A Showcase of FHIR-Based Solutions
An Attendee's Perspective
This month, I had the pleasure of attending the HL7 FHIR Applications Roundtable at Duke University. As an MD that recently defected into the software world, I'm going to take a few paragraphs to briefly explain the significance of HL7 and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to my non-technical friends and medical school colleagues.
Introducing the HL7 Companion Guide to Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA®) 2.1
On March 3, 2017, Health Level Seven International and the Duteau Design Inc. team of Jean Duteau, Joginder Madra, Helen Stevens, and Lisa Nelson published the Companion Guide to Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA) 2.1. This companion guide is a supplement to HL7's CDA R2 Implementation Guide (IG): C-CDA Templates for Clinical Notes STU Release 2.1.
Google Cloud Platform to Work with HL7 FHIR Foundation by Providing the Underlying Cloud Technology for the HL7 FHIR Developer Community
Health Level Seven® International (HL7®), the global authority for interoperability in healthcare information technology with members in 55 countries, today announced that the HL7 FHIR Foundation is now working with Google to support HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard and the FHIR community using Google Cloud Platform.
The HL7 FHIR Connectathon Medication Track
At the HL7 FHIR Connectathon 14, held January 14 - 15, 2017 in San Antonio, I participated in the medication track. See my previous post to learn more about how I ended up in the medication track.
HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard has four key resources related to medication:
Excitement Filled the Room
It was already 9:23 am. One could argue that on a normal Saturday morning, that's an early start time.
But I was late. The conference room at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio on the Riverwalk was packed ... and buzzing with excitement over FHIR resources, interoperability and the like:
I later learned the total number of participants at the HL7 FHIR Connectathon 14 was 200+ (a sharp increase from the 6 who attended the first Connectathon just a few years ago).
It seemed like 20+ round tables, packed close to each other, each with 6 to 10 participants, elbow to elbow. Some attendees engaged in lively discussion, some furiously wrote code, and some just stared at their screens (most displaying a FHIR resource page) brows creased in concentration.
Where Do I Start?
Why couldn’t I drag my behind out of bed a little earlier for the opening remarks so I could orient myself better?
Which table should I start from?
In this mild confusion, I walked past each table to see if I could find anyone I knew or a track I was familiar with.
Congratulations to the HL7 Leaders Named to Health Data Management's "20 People to Watch in Healthcare IT in 2017"
The health IT industry publication Health Data Management released its list of the health leaders they expect to make large contributions to the discussion on HIT and provide guidance on where the industry needs to go in "20 People to Watch in Healthcare IT in 2017."
Happy Holidays!
From our family to yours, Health Level Seven International wishes you a happy holiday season.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our members, business partners and colleagues who have donated their time and expertise to help HL7 achieve its mission to empower global health data interoperability. We cannot continue this important work without the support of the health IT community.
Working Together: Our best option to improve C-CDA® Content
Most people have heard of HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) Connectathon events, as well as IHE North America and European Connectathon events, which focus on testing the interoperability of solutions. But did you know that one of the most important content efforts – improving C-CDA® (Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture) documents – is also underway? At each HL7 C-CDA® Implementation-A-Thon, health IT activists have met to improve C-CDA quality and resolve industry differences that result from varying interpretations of standards and implementation guides.
Efforts to Improve the Content of the C-CDA
Many efforts are underway across the industry to help all of us improve the content of C-CDA documents. For example, the Relevant and Pertinent project and the ONC Site C-CDA Scorecard. For anyone who wants to improve C-CDA content quality, you will make the best use of your time at an HL7 C-CDA Implementation-a-Thon.
These two-day events provide an opportunity for multiple participants (20 – 30) from a diverse cross-section of companies and government agencies (16 – 20) to tackle specific use cases for both content creation and content consumption.
What We’ve Accomplished So Far at the C-CDA Implementation-A-Thons
Through the past three C-CDA Implementation-A-Thons, we have accomplished the following:
At Allscripts, we have products that cross the continuum of care, with the ability to both produce and consume CDA-based documents. I am fortunate to work with the very talented Community Solutions group, which is responsible for the creation and consumption of all CDA-based documents for Allscripts products.
Yet, even with this single, focused approach at Allscripts, we are still faced with a number of interesting choices about data, and the construction and consumption of CDA documents. Participation in the C-CDA Implementation-a-Thon events resulted in us making some useful changes, and feeling confident that these were changes made with an industrial consensus for producing an improved quality of C-CDA.
HL7 on FHIR at HIMSS17
With its world-class education, ever-expanding exhibition and exceptional networking opportunities, no other event brings the brightest minds in health and IT together like HIMSS17. More than 40,000 health and IT professionals are expected to attend to explore creative solutions to real-world challenges in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center.
HL7 is proud to support this annual event that helps health IT professionals find the right products and solutions for their organizations so that they can continue to transform health and lives through IT.