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Multi-country Working Group on Imaging Information Sharing

Coordinators: Charles Parisot, Claudio Saccavini
 

Overview presentation: Multi-Country Working Group (MCWG) on Image Information Sharing: An IHE-Europe Taskforce

MCWG Welcomes additional countries engaged in imaging information sharing at the national or regional levels

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MCWG Scope and Objectives

Scope:
Deployment of interoperability for Imaging Exchange

National & regional level world-wide. Complements Cross-Border focus of EU Commission (eHN, xt-EHR).
Goal:
Deliver design analysis for specific extensions
Extensions to effectively deploy IHE Profiles, DICOM, FHIR and other standards within countries’ ehealth services.
Benefits:
Pool expertise and resources
Direct engagement of members in active national deployment. 
Consensus analysis of specific issues to increase consistency.
Deliverables:
Analysis results as MCWG recommendations.

Mature and complete (multi-country consensus)
Offered for adoption and easily included into national frameworks.


MCWG Mode of Operation, Members & Recommendations

MCWG plenary
every two weeks, 1-hour T-con
  • Members prioritize topics for recommendations. Each one is addressed by a dedicated Focus Group including 3-4 Members or designees, committed to complete the recommendation on the topic in less than two months
  •  All members review and comment on draft recommendations and approve final recommendations
Currently includes representatives from
  • Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Finland, France, Czechia, Canada, Austria
  • Other countries are welcome
MCWG has produced
3 sets of recommendations
 in four months
  • Intended to be sufficiently mature, complete (multi-country consensus) and stable to be offered for adoption and included into national interoperability frameworks.
  • Initially delivered in a PowerPoint Slide Format.
  • Publicly available documents, MCWG members to ensure rapid feedback as they apply.

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MCWG Approved Recommendations on Imaging Information Sharing:
 

  1. Profile and Standards Positioning (May 2024)
    Positions the role of HL7 FHIR in the sharing of imaging information architectures, choice of profiles and standards such as MHD(FHIR), XDS-I. Coexistence with XCA and FHIR/MHD, integration of Web Access to DICOM Objects (WADO-RS) in XDS-I.
  2. Imaging Metadata and linkages (December 2023)
    Strategies or metadata definitions for filtering access in queries (key filtering elements) and linkages between orders, reports and imaging studies.
  3. Extensions to Imaging Study Manifest (March 2024)
    Context of use of imaging study manifests, explain the choice of DICOM KOS, refine the content of imaging study manifest in areas such as patient IDs, accession numbers, additional content in study/series descriptions.
  4. Flagging Significant Images in shared Imaging Studies (December 2024)
    Add the capability to the above three MCWG Recommendations to implement in an interoperable way the IHE KIN Profile, thus ensuring that the source producing such a flagging of significant images is fully and easily accessible to the imaging consuming health professional.

MCWG Relationship with MyHealth@EU, eHDSI cross border and the eHealth Network Guidelines on Imaging

MCWG maintains a close relationship with the relevant EU Projects (Xt-EHR, X-Share, etc.) and Actions in which the Commission and the Member States are engaged. 

  1. MCWG has adopted the Use Case defined by the EU Guidelines on Imaging Studies and Imaging Reports sharing [include link to EU WebSite].        
  2. MCWG presented its work to the eHN Imaging Task Force March 15th and April 12th 2024.
  3. MCWG shared its recommendations with the eHN SubGroups (Semantic and Interoperability) – April 11, 2024

Several MCWG Members are also representing their country in the EU eHealth Network Imaging Task Force, the Xt-HEHR Joint Action and the eHN SubGroups.
 

MCWG Current Activities April-December 2024

1.  MCWG recommendation checklist spreadsheet delivered and used to facilitate tracking adoption of MCWG recommendations by the countries and MCWG.

2.  Create a Backlog of Issues about first three Recommendations that need further analysis resulting from country interviews

3.  Additional recommendations have been developed (Use of QIDO Hub, Central Server Viewer).  Integrated in the first set of recommendations.

4.  Fourth recommendation on significant images approved (Dec 2024).

5. Invite non-European and European countries not yet participating to learn about MCWG and join. (England joined in November 2024).

6. MCWG Workshop at European IHE Connectathon held in Trieste (Thursday June 6 2024):

  • Opportunity for Countries to learn about MCWG and meet current members.
  • Assess the ongoing work of Focus Groups
  • Invite vendors for information. MCWG was only open to vendors through member countries - will be able to join directly in 2025 with the MCWG on Imaging – Community of Doers.

7. MCWG on Imaging – Community of Doers was created following IHE-Europe agreement with EU XpanDH project

  • Held kick-off teleconference on December 10th with about 10 first stakeholders. 
  • Support the current 4 MCWG recommendations (see above).  Provided excellent suggestions for improvements.

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