Integrating the healthcare enterprise: a primer. Part 5. The future of IHE.

Introduction The future of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) is you. All who are interested in advancing integration of healthcare information to improve patient care are welcome to participate in the IHE initiative. In particular, the stakeholders identified in a previous primer article (1)—the department chief or chairman, department manager or administrator, technologist, radiologist, nonradiologist clinician, chief information officer, imaging information system vendor, and nonimaging information system vendor—should actively participate in IHE efforts. In this article, we review the structure of the IHE initiative, educational opportunities, the Year 3 demonstration, and how to specify and purchase IHE functionality. We also suggest other ways for the stakeholders in medical informatics to participate.