In his recent blog post, Eric Browne highlights what may be a problem in the design of the Australian PCEHR, due to the well-known CDA feature allowing dual forms of content – text and structured, supposedly equivalent – to be stored in the one document. If Eric’s examples are representative of real data in the future PCEHR system, there is definitely a problem. In any case, there is a general problem, to do with common misuse of the CDA architecture, which itself should be changed to remove such possibilities. Read the rest of this entry »
The CDA ‘dual-content’ conundrum
28/01/2012
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Health Informatics | Tagged: CDA, e-health, EHRs, HL7, standards | 
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CIMI group goes with openEHR archetypes & UML profile
14/12/2011The Clinical Information Modelling Initiative (CIMI) group led by Dr Stan Huff (Intermountain Health, Utah) met here in London 29 Nov – 1 Dec to make a final decision on formalism, from the two remaining – openEHR archetypes and various forms of UML (previous posts on CIMI: DCMs & RM, on formalisms). Instead of simply choosing one, the group made a more strategic choice of designating openEHR ADL/AOM 1.5 as the core formalism, with a corresponding profile of UML being developed to enable the more numerous UML-based developers (e.g. VA, NHS etc) to use archetypes within their UML toolchains.
Here is the public announcement resulting from this meeting.
1 Comment | Computing, Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: archetype, DCM, e-health, Health Informatics, openEHR | Permalink
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CIMI: purpose-built or jury-rigged?
14/11/2011In recent weeks, the Clinical Information Modelling Initiative (CIMI), led by Stan Huff, has followed its stated process and is nearing a voting process in which a shared health domain modelling formalism is chosen. Proponents of each of the candidate formalisms have been asked to post arguments supporting their work.
A supporting statement for openEHR archetypes as the optimal formalism is posted here, on the CIMI wiki. We have not included any beautiful tool-based views, nor even the ‘latest and best clinical models’, following Stan’s request for the ‘raw’ technical view of the syntax. Accordingly, the only thing with even any colour in it is these screenshots of an ADL archetype in a raw text editor, with syntax highlighting on.
Leave a Comment » | Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: 13606, archetype, e-health, Health Informatics, ISO 21090, models, standards | Permalink
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DCM – Data Types and Reference Model considerations
11/09/2011Following the DCM meeting convened by Dr Stan Huff (Intermountain Healthcare) in Washington in July, reported in an earlier blog post, there is a further meeting this week in San Diego, which will discuss the issues of ‘data types’ and ‘reference models’ for the purpose of DCM (detailed clinical models).
I created two slideshows to explain my views on these matters (DCM_and_data_types and DCM_and_reference_model [both PDF]). Below is an extract of my arguments in these slideshows, based on experience, for adopting a particular approach to data types and reference model within the stated mission the DCM forum, which is to find formalism and attendant models in which to express universally shareable detailed clinical models. Naturally, my view on ‘the answer’ to that question is ‘openEHR (ADL/AOM) archetypes, templates and terminology’, but what I am providing below is not an argument supporting that, but one proposing how to proceed with respect to the ‘underlying models’.
Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: archetype, CEN, DCM, Health Informatics, HL7, ISO, ISO 21090, models, openEHR | Permalink
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Why e-health really is hard
10/08/2011Every so often, someone asks: why can’t the health sector get its act together with ICT? Tell me why health is ‘different’?
Dilbert - advances in healthcare
Every so often a new and interesting answer to this question pops up… Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Health Informatics, Philosophy | Tagged: e-health, EHRs, Health Informatics | Permalink
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Information models, DCMs and Archetypes
07/07/2011I will be attending a ‘Fresh Look’ meeting in Washington next week. The idea is to make some progress on the topic of ‘detailed clinical models’ (DCMs). Some of the goals include setting up a repository of DCMs, establishing governance, and defining a roadmap for tooling. Underlying all this is a huge list of formalisms and models, including OWL, UML, ADL, HL7 MIF, XSD, LRA, RMIMs, CDA templates, greenCDA and so on.
Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | Computing, Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: archetype, e-health, HL7, models, openEHR, standards | Permalink
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DCMs – can they look good AND be computable?
08/06/2011Let’s talk about mindmaps and archetypes. Mindmaps seem to be fuzzy and friendly – we need them because they are incredibly efficient at transmitting information to humans. Archetypes seem über-mathematical, but we need them to do proper model-based computing.
1 Comment | Computing, Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: archetype, DCM, e-health, Health Informatics, models, openEHR | Permalink
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Detailed Clinical Models (DCMs) – some basic facts
03/06/2011The New Zealand e-health programme architecture task-force has published its Working Interoperability Reference Architecture blueprint document. With respect to the document and the comments posted (I tried to post myself, but the comment disappeared), it seems worth making a couple of points on DCMs, of whatever flavour. If a DCM is to be expressed in a way useful to building and managing health IT infrastructure, there are two possibilities. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: archetype, DCM, e-health, Health Informatics, HL7, openEHR, standards | Permalink
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Ontologies and information models: a uniting principle
24/05/2011Software developers and ontologists generally live in two different worlds. The former group think they are building systems to perform information processing and computation, and the latter group think they are formally describing some aspect of the world.
[Note: slight change to wording of FOPP on 30/May/2011]
9 Comments | Computing, Health Informatics | Tagged: Health Informatics, HL7, ontologies, software engineering, standards | Permalink
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The HL7 Null Flavor Debate – part 2
18/05/2011Previous: HL7 null flavors part 1
Null flavors – Objection #3: ontological problems
The following table shows the current HL7v3 null flavor values. A full version of the table appears in Grahame Grieve’s blog post. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Computing, Health Informatics, openehr | Tagged: data types, Health Informatics, HL7, ISO 21090, models, openEHR, standards | Permalink
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