Successful international interoperability requires more than common technical specifications. Jurisdictions implementing the International Patient Summary (IPS) often need to address local clinical, regulatory, terminology, and operational requirements while maintaining alignment with the IPS.
The IPS Best Practices Project, conducted through the IPS Coordinating Committee (IPSCC) with contributions from several participating countries from the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is developing a set of consensus-based guidance pages to help jurisdictions navigate these challenges. The project seeks to identify broadly applicable principles and implementation best practices that can be applied across different standards and implementation approaches, while recognizing that standards-specific guidance may also be required. This work complements existing IPS standards & specifications by focusing on implementation practices rather than defining new standards.
Guiding Principles
The guidance is intended to:
- Be globally applicable across different jurisdictions and health systems.
- Remain non-normative, supporting rather than prescribing implementation approaches.
- Reflect consensus across IPS Coordinating Committee stakeholders.
- Be maintained as a living resource that evolves over time.
- Support consistent adoption while minimizing unnecessary divergence.
By promoting shared understanding and transparent implementation practices, the project aims to improve the consistency and reliability of IPS implementations across jurisdictions, support international interoperability, and preserve the flexibility needed to address local requirements.
Project Status
The IPS Best Practices Project is currently in its initial development phase. Early work is focused on identifying common principles and priority topics for guidance. A foundational activity is the development of a glossary of key terms to establish a common language for discussing IPS implementation across jurisdictions and standards communities.
As consensus is achieved, guidance pages will be published incrementally and maintained as a living, evolving resource. Approaches to publication and distribution, including format and hosting considerations, are also being explored to support accessibility and ongoing maintenance.
Current Focus Areas
- Administrative principles, including governance, roles, and accountability.
- Technical principles applicable across standards and implementation approaches.
- Clinical principles emphasizing relevant and pertinent content.
- Transparency in documenting differences from the IPS.
- Conformance approaches and clear identification of IPS versus jurisdiction-specific implementations.
- Clarifying the relationship between IPS and jurisdiction-specific patient summaries,
including how IPS is derived from or aligned with local implementations.
Anticipated Timelines
Please visit the IPSCC Confluence space for activities and anticipated timelines.