Welcome to OpenHIE: Getting Engaged and Starting Work Towards Health Information Exchange

By: Kasey Upchurch
Posted On: May 7, 2021

Are you looking for ways to engage in OpenHIE? In this blog, we will provide some background and context to describe the work of OpenHIE and highlight ways in which you can participate in the community.

The History of OpenHIE

The OpenHIE community of practice formed in 2013, evolving from the work that initially began in 2009 to establish the Rwandan Health Information Exchange (RHIE). Today, OpenHIE’s approaches, reference technologies, and community processes are being leveraged and explored in multiple countries. More about the background of this community and of health information exchange is shared here.

Alongside the guiding principles, the heart of OpenHIE is in the community’s architecture patterns, implementations, and community. This community is made up primarily of volunteers building an open framework to support nations as they develop health information exchanges (HIEs) to improve patient care, public health, and the management of health resources. To participate in OpenHIE is to join in on the community process, contribute to work within the architecture, or to start an implementation specific to your community—as well as finding overlap in these work streams. We can only succeed when we work together.

Get Started

If you are looking for a way to be a part of the process, we recommend the following steps:

Dig Deeper

Are you not-so-new to OpenHIE but would like to increase the ways you work with this community? There are plenty of avenues to do just that! (We recommend checking out all the above methods in case you haven’t explored all those options just yet).

The list could go on! What is most important is to find the intersection of where OpenHIE can meet you and your needs. We hope the above information is helpful in achieving that. We also welcome you to contact us with questions or to post on the community forum with any ideas you would like to share!

   
Would you like to read this blog in Spanish? Check out a translated version of this blog post on one of our partner organizations, RECAINSA's website: BIENVENIDOS A OPENHIE: COMPROMETERSE Y COMENZAR A TRABAJAR HACIA EL INTERCAMBIO DE INFORMACIÓN EN SALUD