Healthcare Interoperability Forum in ‘Abeyance’

The Health Care Interoperability Forum (HCIF), an industry group of leading system suppliers focused on developing common standards, has gone into ‘abeyance’ and has no further plans to meet.

The decision to cease further work was taken at meeting of the group two weeks ago after it became apparent that much of the work planned or underway was now also being undertaken by the National Design Authority, an arm of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS.

A lack of common interoperability standards has been one of the key factors holding back the exchange of information between systems in the NHS, and the HCIF was formed by health system suppliers earlier this year partly to help agree messaging standards and improve interoperability.

Dr Leo Fogarty, a consultant and chair of HCIF, told E-Health Insider that the problem had not been down to individual companies working together but rather the interface with the NPfIT in the shape of the National Design Authority. “It wasn’t clear how collaboration between firms and the national plan would work,” said Dr Fogarty.

Steve Garrington, chief executive of Torex Health, one of the founding members of HCIF, confirmed to E-Health insider that “The forum is suspended until the relationship with the Design Authority and national programme is resolved.”

He added that the group had been aware of an overlap with the work of the Design Authority, but the extent of the overlap had only recently become fully apparent. “As far as the forum was concerned it became apparent about four weeks ago.”

Following the decision to put the group into ‘abeyance’ Intellect, the UK IT industry body, has been written to and asked to find a way to take work on interoperability forward. Intellect have been asked, “to act on behalf of members of HCIF to find a method of collaborating with the national programme,” explained Dr Fogarty.

As reported by E-Health Insider in April, HCIF was established to support the design of interoperability standards covering over 90 data flows which occur in the patient’s journey through the UK health system. Member companies signed a memorandum of understanding which committed them to time, effort and pro-rata funding of various work streams associated.

Five work streams had been identified, three of which will still be carried through to completion: online reporting of investigations; out-of-hours messaging; referral and discharge messaging. Meetings on these specialist sub-groups will continue.

Two further work programmes have been suspended: shared care and decision support. However, Dr Fogarty added there were “no assurances that work underway will be incorporated into the national plan.”

The HCIF initiative had been repeatedly praised by Richard Granger, director general of NHS IT. Speaking in June he said he was pleased at the progress from the supplier community to meet the interoperability challenge. “I’m very pleased the supplier community is responding to treatment on that,” said Mr Granger. He further announced that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) had been asked to become involved and act as a catalyst.

Steve Garrington, chief executive of Torex Health, one of the founding members of HCIF, told E-Health Insider that the CBI’s involvement was intended to help competing suppliers working together on standards and a range of other industry issues. “They [the CBI] are acting as honest brokers and this has proved very useful.”

Mr Garrington added that with national procurements underway it was understandable that the Design Authority had not developed formal links with suppliers on standards. “Part of the specification work they are doing will be on setting standards.” He predicted: “When the time is right the Department of Health will enable direct engagement with the Design Authority.”

Although the HCIF is currently stalled Mr Garrington stressed that the supplier community had already come a considerable way on standards and interoperability, and detected a groundswell of support behind standards and interoperability: “It is inevitable that larger suppliers will have to make systems interoperable.”