Connectathon+April+2010+Report

=Secure Messaging Connectathon - April 19th - 23rd Canberra=

**The results have now been validated and approved by the IHE Australia board and IHE International monitor and are available here:** http://ihe-australia.wikispaces.com/SMD+Connectathon+Results+April+2010

Australian Health IT vendors gathered in Canberra to develop and test their capacity to securely message key healthcare information.

 IHE Australia Secure Message Delivery (SMD) Connectathon was conducted from 19-23 April 2010 in Canberra. 13 Vendors participated with a focus on achieving interconnectivity using the web service messaging profile according to the new Standards Australia Technical Specification for E-Health Secure Message Delivery. (ATS 5822:2010 – eHealth Secure Message Delivery published 5 March 2010).

The use of web services for communication brings Australian vendors in line with international approaches; a vital step towards adopting the next generation of health communication technology and improved access to health information such as electronic test results and hospital discharge summaries.

At the Connectathon each system has to exchange data with 3 other systems and an online testing facility and have independent industry appointed monitors check the test results. Successful vendors can now incorporate this communication technology in products and publish a conformance statement as a guide to purchasers and system users.


 * Connectathon background:**

IHE Australia recognises the support of many organisations and individuals for this event and in particular the Australian Federal Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) who supported this event and the development of the messaging profile.

IHE Australia has run three previous Connectathons in Australia and is one deployment committee of an international organisation made up of vendors, professionals associations and others interested in implementation of standards based e-Health communication systems ([|www.ihe.net] __and www.ihe.net.au__ ). The Australian sponsor organisations are HISA, MSIA, HL7 Australia, and RANZCR. Other members include ADIA, RACS, and HIMAA.

IHE Australia was contracted by the Federal Department of Health and Ageing to run the Secure Message Delivery (SMD) Connectathon in Canberra from 19-23 April 2010, as a special event, under established IHE rules and procedures. In turn, IHE Australia commissioned the eHealth NATA-accredited Australian Healthcare Messaging Laboratory (AHML) to develop a Secure Messaging test facility and procedures. AHML conducted all testing at the Connectathon against the published Standards Australia Secure Messaging Technical Specification (ATS 5822:2010).

The IHE Australia SMD Connectathon was the result of a collaborative development process between: • NEHTA • Medical Software Industry (MSIA) • Standards community (Standards Australia IT14-06)

NEHTA joined the Connectathon, to test its own implementation of the SMD specification alongside those of other participants and to provided volunteer technical expertise to assist other early adopters of the SMD profile.

For further information, contact Vincent McCauley at vincem@mccauleysoftware.com or admin@ihe.net.au. Phone: +61 2 9818 6493.