2009 Volume 29 Issue 6 Pages 245-254
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Echocardiography profile in an environment that included legacy information systems. For this study, we developed an Ultrasound Image and Report Management System that was capable of supporting the IHE echocardiography profile. We then implemented this system at the real clinical environment and integrated it with the existing legacy hospital information system, department system, and picture archive and communication system (PACS). A gateway interface was used to convert the proprietary protocol and data from the legacy systems to support the standard HL7 data format and DICOM connectivity used in newer systems. After a year of operation, we evaluated the efficacy of IHE connectivity by collecting questionnaires and performing interviews to compare system performance before and after the integration. The assessment showed that IHE connectivity provided greater accuracy for measurement data as well as for patient and examination information on the report. The conclusion was that IHE connectivity is effective in environments that mix new standards-based systems with existing legacy information systems.
