Brussels face to face Connectathon transformed to ONLINE, 2-6 November
IHE-Europe Connectathon takes place online
After thorough consideration and evaluation of the current COVID-19 developments, we are urged to announce that the 2020 IHE-Europe Connectathon scheduled to take place on November 2-6 in Brussels, Belgium will be taking place online. IHE’s globally-developed, standards-based, open-source interoperability testing platform together with experienced monitors will support the testing event.
When we made the decision to postpone IHE-Europe’s 2020 Connectathon Week from March to November 2020 due to COVID-19 imposed lockdowns, we had hoped that the global health environment would have improved sufficiently to hold a successful in-person event. While there have been successes and challenges managing COVID-19 impact across the world, at the moment travel warnings and restrictions are in place for many areas relevant to Connectathon participants, including Brussels. Since improving the health of people is at the heart of IHE, we do not think it is appropriate to bring together people from across Europe and other parts of the world together in-person for these IHE events at this time.
We will be collaborating with IHE domains from across the globe to hold the online IHE Connectathon utilizing IHE’s interoperability testing platform at the same dates as initially planned: 2-6 November. Current registrants' registration fees will be honored for the online event in case they register for it again, and will be refunded if they choose to not make use of this great opportunity to advance the interoperability of healthcare products and to shape the possibilities to test the interoperability of these products online.
All registrants will receive more detailed information soon on:
- fees and registration dates
- list of available IHE-profiles
- vendor connectivity test session before the Connectathon week
- instruction sessions
And more.
We look forward to receiving your registration for Europe’s first ever online IHE Connectathon, performed from November 2-6 in the European time zone, once the registration has opened. You may indicate your wish to participate in advance via secretariat@ihe-europe.net.
As announced in parallel by IHE USA, the IHE North American Connectathon in March of 2021 has been planned from the beginning as a fully online event, facilitating participants from the North American time zone. The NA Connectathon will build upon lessons learned in the European Connectathon and leverage an enhanced version of IHE’s online interoperability testing platform, Gazelle.
IHE World Summit postponed
We regretfully decided to postpone the IHE World Summit which was supposed to be held from 3 to 4 November during the IHE-Europe Connectathon week and to continue to monitor the COVID-19 global situation in order to determine a new date. We are currently aiming for a date in 2021, but this strongly depends on the development of the crisis. All World Summit participants will be refunded their fees. We thank you for understanding and we will keep you informed on the developments.
