Semantic Interoperability Workshop

The ontology-driven Semantic Interoperability Workshop in ehealth was organised on June 22-23 in the framework of the epSOS project. The goal of this meeting was to advance the evolution of e-health 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.

The aim of the event was to work out how to 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 the epSOS Patient Summary Scenario was used as a starting example. Recommendations of the EU RIDE and SemanticHealth projects were also taken into consideration.Day one featured an introduction to the workshop and its objectives by Ilias Iakovidis from the European Commission.

He stressed that the issues 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”). This was followed by presentations entitled “A roadmap from epSOS Patient Summary Services to Electronic Health Record Services” and “Walking Together along the Road to Semantic Interoperability”.

Two other sessions took place on day one discussing the pathways to semantic interoperability and reporting on ongoing efforts towards advancing semantic interoperability. Day two again featured speakers from across Europe. The topic for discussion this time was the impact of semantic interoperable services on medical care.

For more information, please visit: www.epsos.eu