Hi everyone,
Please find below the June 2026 IHE Newsletter for your information. We hope you find it helpful and informative.
IHE Continues to Advance HL7® FHIR® Based Interoperability
Strong long-term collaboration between IHE and HL7
IHE continues to expand its leadership in advancing standards-based interoperability through the development, testing, and implementation of profiles based on HL7® FHIR®.
Today, IHE has published 46 HL7 FHIR-based profiles, spanning multiple clinical and operational domains and addressing real-world interoperability challenges across health information exchange, patient care, public health, medical devices, pharmacy, and more. These profiles provide implementation-ready guidance that transforms the promise of FHIR into practical, scalable interoperability solutions that can be consistently deployed and tested by the industry.
Building on decades of collaboration with HL7, IHE recently achieved an important milestone by becoming a recognized participant in the HL7 FHIR Community Process. This designation further strengthens the alignment between IHE and HL7 and creates new opportunities for collaboration in the development, refinement, and implementation of FHIR-based specifications.
IHE's unique contribution extends beyond profile development. Through rigorous peer-to-peer testing at IHE Connectathons and ongoing implementation experience from healthcare organizations and technology vendors worldwide, IHE helps ensure that FHIR-based profiles are not only specified on use cases, but successfully implemented in real-world environments.
As adoption of FHIR continues to accelerate globally, IHE remains committed to developing implementation guidance, validation tools, and testing programs that help the healthcare community achieve interoperable, standards-based data exchange.
Accelerating Access to Diagnostic Imaging
From Image Exchange to Image Navigation: Why MADO Matters
As healthcare systems increasingly adopt cloud platforms, AI-driven workflows, and FHIR-based ecosystems, medical imaging remains one of the most valuable, yet challenging domains for interoperability. While DICOM has long been the foundation of imaging, modern digital health platforms are increasingly built around HL7® FHIR®. Bridging these worlds has become a strategic necessity.
The IHE Manifest-based Access to DICOM Objects (MADO) profile addresses this challenge by introducing a new approach to imaging interoperability. Rather than focusing solely on moving large imaging datasets between systems, MADO enables intelligent navigation and selective access to imaging information through standardized manifests.
MADO introduces a strategic interoperability bridge between DICOM and FHIR worlds. By supporting both DICOM KOS and FHIR ImagingStudy representations of imaging manifests, it allows traditional PACS and VNA environments to participate seamlessly in modern, API-driven healthcare ecosystems without requiring fundamental changes to existing imaging infrastructures.
This capability is particularly relevant as healthcare organizations prepare for initiatives such as the European Health Data Space (EHDS), where seamless and standards-based access to imaging data across organizations and borders will become increasingly important. MADO allows healthcare providers, applications, and AI solutions to discover, access, and retrieve precisely the imaging information they need, without requiring full data transfers or custom integrations.
The profile also showcases the impact of the IHE PRISM initiative, which was established to accelerate the development of modern, implementable interoperability specifications. MADO is a tangible example of how IHE brings together experts across the healthcare community to solve real-world interoperability challenges and transform them into practical, testable standards.
As imaging volumes continue to grow and healthcare ecosystems become increasingly connected, MADO represents an important shift, from image exchange to image navigation. In doing so, it provides a key building block for the future of interoperable, scalable, and data-driven healthcare.
IHE Connectathons
2026 Demonstrates the Growing Momentum of Healthcare Interoperability
The IHE-Europe Connectathon 2026 brought together more than 1,100 participants in Brussels, reaffirming its role as the premier global event for testing and advancing healthcare interoperability. During the week, 52 vendors validated 68 systems across 64 IHE profiles, executing more than 2,200 interoperability test transactions and demonstrating the growing maturity of standards-based digital health ecosystems.
Beyond testing, Connectathon Week showcased the strength of the IHE Testing Continuum. Through the Xt-EHR Projectathon, EHDS-focused Plugathons, and the IHE-Europe Experience Days, healthcare leaders, policymakers, standards organizations, and technology providers collaborated to accelerate the transition from interoperability specifications to real-world implementation.
As healthcare systems prepare for the European Health Data Space (EHDS), initiatives such as these are critical to ensuring that interoperability is not only specified, but proven, scalable, and ready for deployment across organizations, regions, and national borders.
... from the 2026 IHE-Europe Experience Days.
The momentum continues in North America as preparations accelerate for the IHE North America Connectathon Week 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Arlington, Virginia. Hosted in partnership with George Mason University College of Public Health, this premier interoperability event will bring together healthcare leaders, technology innovators, government agencies, and standards experts from around the world to validate solutions, strengthen collaboration, and advance standards-based digital health.
This year's event will feature focused testing and community engagement activities in key areas including medical devices, radiology, pathology, artificial intelligence (AI), maternal health, and the International Patient Summary (IPS). Participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate interoperability through rigorous peer-to-peer testing while contributing to the development and adoption of practical solutions that improve healthcare delivery worldwide.
To accommodate growing interest, Connectathon testing registration has been extended through June 15. Organizations interested in participating are encouraged to register and join their peers in shaping the future of connected healthcare. Registration for Plugathon tracks and the IHE Experience Days conference will open soon, providing additional opportunities for collaboration, education, innovation, and market engagement throughout Connectathon Week.
Connectathon Registration Extended to June 15, 2026!
October will be a particularly active month for the global IHE community. In addition to the North America Connectathon, IHE will host the focused IHE Radiation Oncology Connectathon in Virginia from October 19–23, bringing together stakeholders to advance interoperability in radiation oncology workflows and systems. Across the globe, the ... will take place in Tokyo October 19-23, further demonstrating the international commitment to interoperability through collaborative testing and implementation of IHE profiles. And finally, save the date for the next ... in April 19-23 2027 in The Hague, Netherlands.
Thank you!
Imprimer
Courriel
Twitter