InterSystems HealthShare Among First to Receive Certification for Health IT Interoperability From IHE USA and ICSA Labs
<0> InterSystemsCatherine Marenghi, 617-225-3179orICSA LabsCarlos Arcila, 908-559-8031 </0>
, a global leader in software for connected care, announced today that the strategic informatics platform has received certification for health IT interoperability and security. Under the independent certification program, a joint initiative of the nonprofit IHE USA and , an independent division of Verizon that offers third-party testing and certification of security and health IT products, InterSystems HealthShare is among the first healthcare IT products to receive interoperability certification – helping healthcare organizations move forward on the path to connected care.
The certification program stemmed from a growing concern among healthcare organizations that today’s software, medical devices, and IT systems are often incompatible, making it complicated and expensive to share patient data in a secure manner. Achieving interoperability across disparate systems and across organizations makes it possible to achieve the quality and safety benefits of a comprehensive, up-to-date electronic patient record.
InterSystems HealthShare is a strategic platform for healthcare informatics. It enables organizations to capture and share all patient data, and provides real-time active analytics that drive informed action across a hospital network, community, region, or nation. HealthShare facilitates strategic interoperability, enabling critically important initiatives such as population health management, care coordination, community engagement, and more patient-centered care.
HealthShare achieved certification following rigorous and thorough testing under the IHE IT Infrastructure Domain, which specifies capabilities related to interoperability, clinical-document sharing, patient identification, audit logging, and security.
IHE USA and ICSA Labs share the goal of accelerating the adoption of usable, secure, and interoperable health information technology to further the goal of improving patient safety and delivering higher quality of care. To that end, these organizations have formed a collaborative partnership to advance the state of the industry. IHE Certification will provide purchasers of health IT products independent, third-party assurance that there is a credible, repeatable process that ensures quality, and that these products will exhibit robust capabilities for optimal data exchange and security that are demanded by our industry.
Certification by IHE USA, a nonprofit organization formed in 2010 to drive adoption of interoperability standards in healthcare, also builds on specifications of the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. IHE defines profiles and standards that provide a common language for purchasers and vendors to discuss the integration needs of healthcare sites and the integration capabilities of healthcare IT products. They offer developers a clear implementation path for communication standards, supported by industry partners, and carefully documented, reviewed and tested. They give purchasers a tool that reduces the complexity, cost and anxiety of implementing interoperable systems by verifying that products are suitable for health data exchange, function as intended, and provide healthcare professionals with timely and secure access to health information.
The certification program was announced at the in January.
“IHE USA certification means that InterSystems has achieved interoperability capabilities that go beyond minimum federal requirements to deliver more robust, high-quality, standards-based products,” said Joyce Sensmeier, president of IHE USA and vice president of informatics at HIMSS.
“IHE USA certified products benefit healthcare purchasers, system developers, and, ultimately, patients,” said Amit Trivedi, healthcare program manager at ICSA Labs. “There is a dizzying array of products and systems to choose from, and IHE USA Certification by ICSA Labs can be a differentiating factor to make a more informed decision when selecting the right health IT product.”
InterSystems has been a leader in interoperability testing and certification programs worldwide, including the annual , IHE Europe Connectathon, and IHE Australia Connectathon, which promote the coordinated use of established standards to address specific clinical needs. InterSystems also participated in the ™, an interactive demonstration of live clinical information systems, at the HIMSS 2013 conference in March 2013.
“For our customers, interoperability is a strategic mandate. By ensuring HealthShare meets IHE interoperability standards, we are supporting healthcare organizations on every step of the journey to better healthcare outcomes and lower costs – from capturing, aggregating, and sharing patient data for greater efficiency, to delivering real-time analytics for improved care quality and patient safety,” said Paul Grabscheid, vice president of strategic planning, InterSystems.
The certification program will expand by utilizing virtual testing events this fall, leading up to the to be held Jan. 27-31 in Chicago. For more information on certification and IHE USA Certified products, visit .
InterSystems is a global leader in software for connected care, with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and offices in 25 countries. is a strategic platform for healthcare informatics, enabling information exchange and active analytics across a hospital network, community, region or nation. is the world’s most widely used database system in healthcare applications. is a platform for rapid integration and the development of connectable applications. InterSystems’ products are used by thousands of hospitals and laboratories worldwide, including all of the top fifteen hospitals on the Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals as rated by . For more information, visit , , , or .
IHE USA is a not-for-profit organization established in 2010 that operates as a deployment committee of IHE International®. The mission of IHE USA is to drive adoption of standards-based interoperability to improve patient care through innovation, standards profiling, testing, education and collaboration. IHE USA improves the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery by supporting the deployment of standards-based electronic health record systems, facilitating the exchange of health information among care providers, both within the enterprise and across care settings, and enabling local, regional and nationwide health information networks in the United States, all in a manner consistent with participation in IHE International, Inc. Visit for more information.
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, offers third-party testing and certification of security and health IT products, as well as network-connected devices, to measure product compliance, reliability and performance for many of the world’s top security vendors. ICSA Labs is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited, and a 9001:2008 registered organization. ICSA Labs is an NVLAP Accredited Health IT Testing Lab and ANSI-accredited, ONC-Authorized Certification Body for the Office of the National Coordinator’s Health IT Certification program. Visit for more information.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 99 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with nearly $116 billion in 2012 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 181,900. For more information, visit