Computerized ECG standards have been developed to allow full interoperability between ECG devices and a generic host system, standardizing both the communication and the data format. The mission of OpenECG is to promote the consistent use of computerized ECG standards, paving the way towards plug-in interoperability that will allow citizens, chronic cardiac patients and athletes to monitor their health and maintain their own comprehensive lifelong multimedia health record.

One year after its establishment, the OpenECG network numbers more than 100 members of different disciplines all committed to open standards and interoperability of medical devices. The OpenECG portal is accessed monthly by more than 300 visitors all around the world, who are able to browse through news, success stories, tutorials, presentations and the proceedings of the 1^st OpenECG workshop. The OpenECG Help Desk, available since September 2002, supports manufacturers, integrators and other stakeholders in the correct implementation of the SCP-ECG standard. A Programming Contest for specific tools related to ECG interoperability standards has been open since January 2003 and a 2^nd OpenECG workshop has been planned for spring 2004.

The present Information Day unveils the OpenECG certification service, a first step towards certification of e-health services including telemedicine and telecare. The OpenECG certification service and its auxiliary services, such as development support by the help desk and automatic ECG record parsing through email, are available at the OpenECG portal.

A reception and live demonstrations are intending to provide a meeting and check point to the critical mass that is forming the core of the OpenECG network: manufacturers & Industrial Advisory Board, software engineers & integrators, policy & decision makers (hospital managers, regional authorities, health professionals). The demonstrations will show the benefits of ECG interoperability efforts and experience in multi-vendor environments supporting implementations and applications of established ECG standards for communication and file format (SCP-ECG standard: CEN ENV 1064, ANSI/AAMI EC71).

At the end, a moderated discussion will allow the focusing of interoperability efforts to further promote the consistent and harmonized implementation of ECG interoperability standards and to collect, evaluate, and disseminate open source and shareware tools in the OpenECG Repository already available to OpenECG members.