Press Room

ITK 2.0.0 Compliance for InterSystems Ensemble Makes it Easier and Cheaper for NHS Trusts to Exchange Information

InterSystems is the first to achieve accreditation for the Document Transfer Service Adapter service bundle

Eton, UK – 19 December 2011 - InterSystems today announced that the National Integration Centre and Assurance (NICA) Technology Office has awarded InterSystems Ensemble® full release 2.0.0 compliance on all its existing Interoperability Toolkit (ITK) specification service bundles, as well as a range of additional correspondence service bundles.  Importantly, InterSystems is the first to achieve accreditation for the Document Transfer Service (DTS) Adapter service bundle, which will make it easier and cheaper for NHS Trusts to exchange information in support of the new community-based commissioning.

Hospital Trusts will be able to use the new DTS Adapter service bundle to speed up the transmission of information about patient episodes to general practitioners.  The ITK release 2.0.0 standards support the transfer of all clinical correspondence within the NHS, including inpatient discharge summaries, outpatient and emergency department letters, reports from out-of-hours services, as well as other generic correspondence.

This achievement builds upon Ensemble being the first to attain an ITK accreditation from NICA in September 2010.  InterSystems is the only supplier to deliver this breadth of ITK compliance, which highlights InterSystems’ commitment to driving the ITK initiative and the NHS’ “connect all” philosophy.  The ITK compliant service bundles are available now and free of charge to over 42 existing NHS Trusts who use Ensemble, which is a seamless platform for integration and the development of connectable applications.

Using solutions with full ITK compliance enables Trusts to:

  • Reduce the cost of integration
  • Increase the flexibility of their IT infrastructure
  • Innovate by connecting applications, appliances, and devices 

Brett Marshal, Head of the NICA, commented: “InterSystems’ commitment to the ITK standards is self-evident.  Trusts should ask all of their suppliers about their plans to make their solutions ITK compliant.  Compliance will ease information flow between Trust departments, and national services including the Spine connected systems.  This will lead to better care services that are cheaper to run.”

Jonathan Selby, UK & Ireland Country Manager at InterSystems, added, “Attaining ITK version 2.0.0 compliance for Ensemble with the new DTS service bundle gives our customers new options for process automation to improve services and save money.  During 2012 it will be clear that those with ITK-based solutions have seized a clear operational advantage.”