IHE International Board

What IHE International Board does

IHE International is a non-profit membership organization established in 1998 through a collaboration between HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) and RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) to advance interoperability among healthcare imaging and information systems. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois and incorporated under Illinois law, IHE develops and maintains the IHE Technical Framework — a body of standards-based interoperability specifications built on DICOM, HL7 (v2.x and FHIR), and other healthcare IT standards — that defines how healthcare computer systems communicate across clinical workflows. The organization serves three primary segments: healthcare IT vendors implementing interoperability in their products, healthcare provider organizations deploying standards-compliant systems, and government health agencies using IHE profiles as procurement frameworks for national health information exchange initiatives. Twelve specialized domain committees (Cardiology, Dental, Devices, Endoscopy, Eye Care, IT Infrastructure, Pathology/Laboratory Medicine, Patient Care Coordination, Pharmacy, Quality/Research/Public Health, Radiation Oncology, and Radiology) produce and maintain the Framework.

The organization's core offerings are the IHE Technical Frameworks, Integration Profiles that organize actors and transactions to address specific clinical needs, and the IHE Connectathon testing program. The Gazelle open-source testing platform, developed since 2006 and used by over 200 organizations across 60+ countries, supports 10 international testing events per year in Europe, North America, and Asia. The IHE Product Registry publishes conformance data from these events. Revenue is generated through three streams: annual membership fees (including a premier "Benefactor" tier that includes HIMSS, RSNA, Canada Health Infoway, the ONC, the Australian Digital Health Agency, and IHE Catalyst), Connectathon testing and conformity-assessment services, and certified-professional educational programs. IP is governed by a RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing policy for disclosed patents.

IHE International operates as a multi-stakeholder community organization with national deployment committees in 17 countries (U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and 10 European nations) and partner-led World Summits drawing leaders from 21 countries. Strategic partnerships include HL7 (cooperation agreement renewed in 2016), DICOM International, the American College of Cardiology, the Joint Initiatives Council (with HL7, ISO TC 215, and SNOMED), and the Personal Connected Health Alliance. The 2015 EU recognition of 27 IHE Profiles as procurement standards and the 2016 ACC Health Policy Statement endorsing IHE methodology are key regulatory endorsements. With approximately 11-50 employees and an operating budget funded by member dues and sponsors, the organization appointed Aaron Goldmuntz as its first Executive Director in February 2025.

Name

IHE International Board

Legal name

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) International, Incorporated

Website

https://ihe.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Non-profit healthcare interoperability standards organization founded in 1998, developing technical frameworks and integration profiles via twelve domain committees and Connectathon testing programs serving HIT vendors, providers, and government health agencies globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Interoperability Standards

NAICS

Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Interoperability Standards, Profiles & Implementation (HL7/FHIR/IHE) (HLACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payer-Provider Data Exchange (X12, prior auth, claims/clinical attachment) (HLACABAK), Public Health & Immunization Data Exchange (ELR, case reporting, registry reporting) (HLACABAL), Terminology Services & Semantic Interoperability (SNOMED/LOINC/RxNorm mapping) (HLACABAJ), EHR Extensions, APIs, App Marketplaces & SMART-on-FHIR Apps (HLACAAAN)

Keywords

• Healthcare interoperability standards
• Integration profiles
• Connectathon testing
• HL7 DICOM frameworks
• Gazelle testing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Janesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: IHE International operates as a non-profit membership organization. Organizations pay membership fees to join and participate in domain committees, access technical frameworks, and attend Connectathon events
2. Connectathon Testing Services: Vendor testing and certification services through organized Connectathon events held regularly in multiple international locations (Europe, North America, Asia)
3. Conformity Assessment: Testing and validation services to certify that systems adhere to required IHE interoperability standards and specifications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

IHE International develops and publishes the IHE Technical Framework and Integration Profiles—standards-based interoperability specifications that prescribe how healthcare IT systems should exchange information using DICOM, HL7, and FHIR. Specifications are developed through 12 domain committees, validated through annual Connectathon testing events, and made freely available to the global healthcare community. Supporting offerings include the open-source Gazelle testing platform, the IHE Product Registry, professional certification, and conformity assessment services.

Product overview

IHE International Board operates as a healthcare interoperability standards organization rather than a traditional product company. Its core offerings consist of the IHE Technical Frameworks and Integration Profiles, which are freely available technical specifications enabling healthcare systems to exchange information using established standards like DICOM, HL7, and FHIR. These specifications are developed by twelve specialized domain committees and tested through the IHE Connectathon program using the Gazelle open-source testing platform. The IHE Product Registry provides publicly accessible testing results. Supporting offerings include professional certification programs, user handbooks, white papers, and webinars. The organization has no AI/ML-based products or capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IHE Technical Frameworks Detailed technical specifications serving as implementation guides for healthcare IT interoperability, organized by domain and covering actors, transactions, and information content requirements.
• IHE Integration Profiles Standards-based specifications organizing IHE actors and transactions to address specific clinical and operational patient care needs, covering information access, clinical workflow, security, and administration.
• IHE Connectathon Regularly scheduled interoperability testing events held in multiple international locations where vendor systems are supervised-tested by technical experts to verify conformance to IHE specifications.
• IHE Product Registry Online database providing testing results and IHE Integration Statements from Connectathons across Europe, North America, and Asia, cross-linked to vendor product conformance declarations.
• Gazelle Interoperability Testing Platform Open-source interoperability testing platform providing test bed software tools for testing event support, test execution, message capture, content validation, and security testing during Connectathons and Projectathons.
• IHE Certified Professional Program Professional certification program for individuals demonstrating knowledge and expertise in IHE frameworks, profiles, and implementation methodologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• EU recognized 27 IHE Profiles as Procurement Standards (2015)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HL7 (Health Level 7)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2016HL7 and IHE have a long-standing cooperation agreement to advance healthcare interoperability. The partnership includes joint Healthcare Standards Integration Workgroup established in 2015, renewal of cooperation agreement in 2016, and ongoing collaboration through the Joint Initiatives Council (JIC). Both organizations work together on FHIR implementation and IHE profile development.
• Joint Initiatives Council (JIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHE collaborates with HL7, ISO, and SNOMED through the Joint Initiatives Council to coordinate standards development and expedite new interoperability specifications. The JIC sets standards for patient summary information and coordinates global health IT standards efforts.
• RSNA (Radiological Society of North America)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRSNA is one of two primary sponsors of IHE International (along with HIMSS). RSNA sponsors the IHE Radiology domain and hosts IHE technical committee meetings during the RSNA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
• HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIMSS is one of two primary sponsors of IHE International. HIMSS sponsors the IHE IT Infrastructure domain and Patient Care Device domain, and provides platforms for IHE demonstrations and educational content.
• DICOM InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHE leverages DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standards as foundational technology for imaging-related interoperability profiles in Radiology, Cardiology, and other domains.
• Gazelle Development Community (IHE Europe, KEREVAL)coreTechnology or IntegrationGazelle is an open-source interoperability testing platform developed and maintained by the IHE Europe community and partners including KEREVAL. The platform has been under development since 2006 and is used by over 200 organizations across more than 60 countries for Connectathon and Projectathon testing.
• PCHAlliance (Personal Connected Health Alliance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCHAlliance and IHE collaboration announced in 2017 to support open health information exchange, focusing on personal connected health and interoperability between consumer health devices and health IT systems.
• American College of Cardiology (ACC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACC issued Health Policy Statement in 2016 promoting IHE methodology for cardiovascular care interoperability. ACC writing committee of 15 volunteer clinicians developed statement advocating implementation of IHE profiles to advance health information technology interoperability.
• IHE CatalystcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHE Catalyst serves as a Benefactor member and supports IHE activities including hosting the Product Registry and Connectathon infrastructure through the Gazelle platform at connectathon.ihe-catalyst.net.
• IHE EuropecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional deployment committee coordinating IHE activities across European countries. Operates the IHE Europe Connectathon events (held annually in Brussels), maintains European testing infrastructure, and supports national deployment committees in 12 European countries.
• IHE National Deployment Committees (17 countries)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational deployment committees in 17 countries including USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Korea, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Norway, and Saudi Arabia. These committees promote adoption of IHE specifications within their geographic areas and conduct local testing and education activities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HL7 International: HL7 is the underlying healthcare messaging standard (HL7 v2, v3, FHIR) on which IHE profiles are built. The two organizations operate a joint workgroup and Joint Initiatives Council, making HL7 the most directly comparable standards-body peer.
• SNOMED International: SNOMED develops the global clinical terminology standard and is a fellow Joint Initiatives Council member alongside IHE. Both organizations develop foundational healthcare standards consumed by the same vendor and government ecosystems.
• DICOM Standards Committee: DICOM is the foundational imaging standard leveraged by IHE Radiology, Cardiology, and other imaging-related profiles. It is one of the core underlying standards IHE operationalizes, and is governed by a similar committee-driven standards body model.

Others

• GS1 Healthcare: GS1 Healthcare develops supply-chain and identification standards used in healthcare. It is an adjacent standards ecosystem serving overlapping healthcare vendor and government constituencies, though focused on supply chain rather than clinical interoperability.

Broad incumbents

• HIMSS: HIMSS is one of IHE International's two primary sponsors and the largest healthcare IT professional organization. While much broader in scope (conferences, education, analytics), it directly funds and co-governs IHE and overlaps in the healthcare IT community-building layer.
• ISO/TC 215 (Health Informatics): ISO Technical Committee 215 is the international standards body for health informatics with which IHE maintains a liaison. TC 215 operates at a broader, more formal international-standards level, and IHE participates in its coordination.
• ONC (Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT): ONC is the U.S. federal body that shapes interoperability policy and certified EHR technology criteria, often referencing IHE profiles. It is a major IHE Benefactor and a key consumer of IHE conformance artifacts for U.S. procurement.

Emerging players

• PCHAlliance (Personal Connected Health Alliance): PCHAlliance focuses on consumer/connected health device interoperability and has a 2017 collaboration with IHE. Both target healthcare interoperability but PCHAlliance is more narrowly focused on the consumer-to-clinician data exchange layer.
• Regenstrief Institute (LOINC): LOINC provides the universal code system for identifying health measurements, observations, and documents, and is integrated into IHE profiles. Comparable as a clinical terminology/code standard used by the same health IT ecosystem.

Regional players

• CEN/TC 251 (European Health Informatics): CEN/TC 251 is the European standardization body for health informatics that complements IHE Europe's deployment efforts. Comparable as a regional health-IT standards body, particularly relevant given EU procurement standards alignment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iheintl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/IHEIntl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iheintl
• Facebookfacebook.com/444504908964440

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IHE International Board