Breaking Borders: International Patient Summary Implementation Across Americas and Beyond

The International Patient Summary (IPS) is a critical tool for sharing medical information across borders, summarizing key health domains. It emerged from collaborative effort among standards development organizations (SDOs) over the past decade. It’s designed for care transitions and aligns with international data and vocabulary standards to enable interoperability. Many countries and territories are implementing the IPS to facilitate both provider- and patient-mediated information exchange. SDOs are working together to develop and update IPS specifications, and the Global Digital Health Partnership and national governments are simultaneously promoting adoption. Hospital Sírio-Libanês in Brazil, Canada Health Infoway, and the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT are each participating in IPS development and implementation and the session will present perspectives from three countries. The IPS’s global adoption continues, promising improved healthcare integration and efficiency. Future steps include enhancing global collaboration, technology support, and patient and clinician engagement to further IPS implementation.