Following on from the successful 2008 IHE events, IHE Australia is organising a number of events in 2009.

On July 28-31 the 2009 Connectathon will be held at NICTA in Sydney. The 5th Interoperability Showcase will be held as part of the Industry Exhibition during the HIC'09 and Health-e-Nation conferences on 19-21 August, 2009 at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.

For more information, go to: www.IHE.net.au/Events-2009.htm

Registrations for Kyoto HL7 Working Meeting open

The registration for the May 2009 Working Meeting in Kyoto is open. See the HL7 Australia web site for details and links.

IHE International Board approves the "Australian IHE Deployment Committee"!

On February 12, 2009 the IHE International Board formally approved "IHE Australia"! This means that Australia now has a formal "Deployment Committee" of IHE International and has a seat on the IHE International Board.

The founding organisations have formed the IHE Australia Founding Board as follows:

- Medical Software Industry Association (MSIA): Vince McCauley
- HL7 Australia: Klaus Veil
- Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA): Jon Hilton
- Royal Australian New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR): Peter MacIsaac

The IHE Australia Founding Board nominated Vince McCauley as its Chair and will be seeking to expand the organisational membership in the near future. IHE Australia will also continue to pursue the formation of the "IHE Asia-Pacific" group.

Our thanks go to IHE International Board members Chris Lindop (GE, USA) and Todd Cooper (BSF, USA) for their support in navigating the administrative approval process - they will continue to assist us in establishing an effective and well-governed local IHE organisation.

The consensus of the Board is that the 2008 IHE events were substantial and successful steps forward and planning for 2009 has commenced: www.IHE.net.au/2009.htm