G7 International Patient Summary (IPS)
G7 commitment
38. We commit to work towards adopting a standardised minimum health dataset for patients’ health information, including through the International Patient Summary (IPS) standard, with the shared objectives of facilitating health interoperability within and between countries, developing internationally shared principles for enabling patient access to health data, based on the principle of informed explicit consent or patient permission and in keeping with countries’ and regional existing legislative frameworks; and facilitating and promoting the use of open standards for international health data to encourage the widest possible adoption of standards and greater interoperability. To achieve this goal, we will work with the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) as they are already advancing IPS efforts.
G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting, communique, Oxford, 4 June, 2021 (section 38)
Features
This project enabled a fresh take on IPS, and how it could be implemented internationally and across nations. Discussion with patient and clinical users identified and promoted practical needs and through working primarily with GDHP technical requirements were tested and proven. The following are a few highlights with more detail in the reports available on the UK government website.
Patient mediated access
The main barrier to the success of sharing patient specific information has been information governance. This can cause issues within individual nations, but it is considerably more complex once international sharing is attempted. To resolve this issue, we recommended patient mediated access. This enables the patient to manage access to their record in their IPS portal(s) ensuring that they can share information with any clinician who is treating them. The prototypes demonstrated how this could be achieved.
Patient added information
Discussions with patients identified the real, and at the time unspecified, need for patients to be able to append information to their health record. They were numerous examples where care and treatment had been delayed as this information had not been readily or prominently available.
As a result of this GDHP is taking forward the construct. PRSB have developed ‘About me’ which describes standards which could be implemented.
Standards and interoperability
Standards and interoperability are essential when sharing information. Context and structure are essential to ensure that information is understood and, where transferred, is uploaded into the correct part of the receiving clinical system. Two keystones of IPS are ISO and HL7 FHIR IPS.
GDHP is progressing the development and inclusion of patient mediated access and patient added information, into these.
Use cases
The G7 commission was to enable individuals who travel for work or leisure to be able to take their health information with them while abroad. However, IPS lends itself to many wider use cases, such as, patients sharing their information with multiple providers in their own health system, and to supporting patients who are displaced as part of natural disaster or war.
Resources
G7 digital health reports
All digital health track reports are openly available on the UK government website.
G7 international patient summary prototypes
To demonstrate how IPS could work in practice, we developed two proof of concept prototypes based on the existing IT and data infrastructure in England.
- used existing NHS functionality, see this video
- was a viewer for patients and clinicians
Both addressed information governance and demonstrated how patient mediated access could function.
2022 - Keynote, SNOMED CT Expo
This keynote explains what the International Patient Summary is, how it can be used and the benefits for patients.
Other sources of information
These are links to organisations which are actively involved in developing and promoting the IPS and patient access.
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