1. RIDE INTEROPERABILITY WORKSHOP, Brussels 8/12/2006

2. The Importance of Interoperability in eHealth Introduction
Prof. Dr. Georges De Moor
Dr. Jos Devlies

3. RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels
Do you agree?
“…it is utopian to expect to have one single universally accepted clinical data model that will be globally adopted…”
“… clinical practice, terminology systems and EHR systems are still a long way from a complete harmonisation…”
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

4. Objectives of the RIDE project
An alternative for “the universal and unique application” is… making applications interoperable with each other
The RIDE project objectives are to find out for the domain of eHealth:
what is required;
what is missing;
And how to reach interoperability (the goal)
=> Roadmap to Interoperability
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

5. Levels of Technical Interoperability
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

6. RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels
Types of Interoperability
Technical interoperability
Organisational interoperability
Functional interoperability
Syntactic interoperability
Semantic interoperability
Political interoperability
Legal interoperability
Social interoperability
Inter-standard interoperability
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

7. RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels
ISO Definition
ISO 2002:12 “Interoperability refers to the ability of two or more systems (computers, communication devices, networks, software and other information technology components) to interact with one another and to exchange information according to a prescribed method in order to achieve predictable results.”
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

8. RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels
CEN Definition
CEN/ISSS 2005 : “Interoperability is a state which exists between two application entities when, with regard to a specific task, one application entity can accept data from the other and perform that task in an appropriate and satisfactory manner without the need for extra operator intervention.”
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

9. Semantic Interoperability
“ Two systems are semantically interoperable if and only if each can carry out the tasks for which it was designed using data and information taken from the other as seamlessly as if it was using its own data and information.” (W.Ceusters)
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

10. Interoperability is Important
Increase of number of distributed eHealth services
No system (provider) will be able to provide all possible eHealth services (e.g. decision support & other care management services)
Interoperability helps to avoid data duplication
Real added value services in eHealth require” more than “just on demand support systems” but also “intelligently triggering/triggered applications”
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

11. For whom is Interoperability Important?
Solution for the system providers: it reduces the investment costs for the profit of the client
Solution for the authorities: provides cost-efficiency in healthcare delivery systems
Solution for the healthcare professional:
no longer a or b or c functionality but a + b + c
Patients (it is a right):
Their data are not locked anymore (accessibility)
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

12. RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels
Discussion
Is interoperability more than just the reusability of content by another application…?
Is Interoperability also intelligence embedded in applications for more interaction between applications…?
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels

13. Preliminary conclusions
Interoperability is a real win-win… no one has to loose anything…
There is still a long way to go… but progress is becoming real
Let us firstly define when & where (semantic) interoperability is needed…
RIDE intends to define such a roadmap for achieving more interoperability
RIDE Workshop, December 8, 2006, Brussels