Digital Agenda for Europe - European Commission

News: 2009-07-03 02:00

The Semantic Interoperability workshop was organised on June 22-23 in the framework of the epSOS project. The goal of this meeting was to advance the evolution of eHealth systems in the direction of semantic interoperability. The use and integration of terminologies and associated coding systems as well as ontology-based knowledge representation were two key topics of the workshop.

How can we arrive at the point where it will be possible to achieve computer-supported knowledge exchange between physicians, who may use different languages and live in different countries employing different eHealth infrastructures and technical applications, in such a way that patient safety and information confidentiality is safeguarded?

How can we ensure that health information will be accessible over geographic distances (for instance when patients move between hospitals) and over long periods of time (at least from birth to death)?

The european epSOS project is a major initiative to address these questions in their practical dimensions, and we will use the epSOS Patient Summary Scenario as our starting example. We will also take into account relevant recommendations of the EU RIDE and SemanticHealth projects.

Workshop Presentation and Agenda

Workshop Draft Minutes

Day 1: Monday, June 22, 2009

Ilias Iakovidis (European Commission, DG INFSO) - Introduction: The overarching goal of this meeting is to advance the understanding of patient summary and EHR-related standards with a view to enhanced semantic interoperability. The issues to be addressed are important not only for reasons of efficient data exchange, but also for industry, in light of the possibility of arriving at commonly agreed-upon standards for certification and interoperability testing (“test once use everywhere”).

Erwin Bartels (German Federal Ministry of Health) - A roadmap from epSOS Patient Summary Services to Electronic Health Record Services

Charles Parisot (EC Mandate 403) - Walking Together along the Road to Semantic Interoperability

Pathways to semantic interoperability

Barry Smith, US National Center for Biomedical Ontology - Semantic Interoperability and Strategies for the Standardization of Medical Information: An epSOS Demonstrator Project

Octavian Purcarea (Microsoft WW Health) - Industry perspective on semantic interoperability

Thomas Beale (openEHR) - Semantic Interoperability in Health: The Practical Relevance of Ontologies

Stefano Bertolo (European Commission, DG INFSO) - Interoperable Components for a Knowledge Economy

Reports on ongoing efforts towards advancing semantic interoperability

Charles Parisot (EC Mandate 403) - Walking Together along the Road to Semantic Interoperability - HIT-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Current Directions

Ioana Singureanu (Eversolve, HL7)- HL7 and Semantic Interoperability

Jennifer Zelmer (IHTSDO) - Towards Interoperability: Understanding and Using SNOMED CT

Day 2: Tuesday, June 22, 2009