Connectathon 2013

The annual European testing event for healthcare IT interoperability, known as the IHE Connectathon, will be held in Istanbul, Turkey from April 15 to 19, at the Halic Congress Center.

Connectathon 2013 will bring healthcare interoperability to the edge of Europe with the ambition to reach further, attracting new participants from the Middle East, as suggested by this year's theme "Connect where the continents meet."

This intensive five day 'connectivity marathon' will draw together companies implementing specifications developed by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), providing an opportunity to test their applications with systems from other vendors. The 2012 IHE-Europe Connectathon in Bern, Switzerland had a record attendance of 520 participants and 85 companies for 2,800 interoperability tests among 120 medical information systems. Organised by IHE-Turkey and IHE-Europe, Connectathon 2013 will be jointly sponsored by the Turkish Medical Informatics Association,the Turkish Society of Radiology, and the Association for Medical Imaging Diagnosis and Treatment Technologies.

 "As one of the newest, yet most active members of our association, we can count on our colleagues at IHE-Turkey creating a rich and rewarding event for everyone with a stake in the seamless exchange of patient information," said Lapo Bertini, IHE-Europe vendor co-chair.

Haluk Celikel, vendor co-chair of IHE-Turkey, said, "Hosting the European Connectathon is both an honour and a tremendous opportunity for advancing interoperability in our country as well as demonstrating its benefits to the world."

IHE-Turkey successfully launched Connectahon 2013 for a national audience on 20 September 2012 in Ankara during a "Share the Experience" meeting with the Ministry of Health, vendors and users par ticipating. Turkish companies shared their experiences from earlier IHE-Europe Connectathons and the local committee presented its plans for Connectathon 2013.

The results of the Connectathons are published on the IHE-Europe website and participating vendors may refer to the IHE Integration Statements to show compliance of their products with IHE Integration Profiles. This is a clear benefit to vendors when responding to Request for Proposals from users.

The major goal of the Connectathon is to promote the adoption in commercially available healthcare IT systems of the standards-based interoperability solutions defined by IHE. The Connectathon serves as an industry-wide testing event where participants can test their implementations with those of other vendors.

For more information please visit www.cat2013.org