1.0 Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this document is to describe the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Data Architecture, and the related processes and tools that HITSP uses to identify the data elements, templates and value sets used in Information Exchanges. It explains how within HITSP Specifications:

base and composite standards are related to the data architecture

data elements are harmonized across various standards

constraints are applied within HITSP Specifications

metadata registries support development and implementation

1.2 Intended Audience

The audience for this document includes:

Users of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems wanting to understand the interoperable data elements being exchanged by those systems

Experts in clinical practice developing guidelines for care or clinical decision support or creating quality measures

Policy-makers and influencers establishing national and regional policies with respect to interoperable Information Exchange

Implementers of and integrators with EHR systems needing to understand the data elements being exchanged using HITSP selected standards

1.3 Conventions used in this document

The key words shall, shall not, should, should not and may are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 and will appear when used in that fashion in this typeface.

Terms defined in the definition section will appear in this Typeface and are linked to their definitions the first time they appear within a section.

CC-1-[1] Constraints appear using this style within the document and shall have a unique identifier within the document.

Material that has been adopted without change from other publications will be introduced with the phrase [Adopted from Publication Name] .

Material that has been adapted from other publications, but which may have been revised from the originally published content will be introduced with the phrase [Adapted from Publication Name].

1.4 Document Organization and Structure

1. Introduction This section

2. Executive Summary Summarizes this document

3. Background Provides an overview of healthcare related standards and how they relate to the data architecture, and explains how these are used in HITSP Specifications

4. HITSP Data Architecture Defines key concepts used in this document, and describes the HITSP Harmonization Framework

5. Use of Metadata Registries Describes a metadata registry, and how these are used to support navigation of the selected standards and HITSP Specifications

Users of EHR systems will be most interested in Sections 2.0 through 4.0, and may want to review Sections 5.0 to understand how to inspect the data elements used in HITSP Specifications

Experts in clinical practice will be most interested in Sections 4.0 and 5.0, and may want to investigate Section 3.0 to understand how the data elements of different standards that they may not be familiar with are organized within the standard.

Policy makers and influences will be most interested in Section 2.0 and 4.0. They may want to read Section 3.0 to understand how data elements are organized by the different standards.

Implementers and integrators will want to review Section 4.0 and 5.0 to determine how the HITSP Data Architecture framework impacts implementations of Information Exchanges. They may find Section 3.0 instructive for standards that they may not be familiar with.

1.5 Copyright Information

This document utilizes material from several other publications. When material from another publication is used, it will be introduced as: [<Adopted/Adapted> from <Publication Name>]

Material that is simply copied from the source publication will be marked as Adopted. Material that has been altered from the source publication will be marked as Adapted. Where necessary, the end of the quoted material will conclude with [End of <adopted/adapted> <Source> Material] .

Material credited to the OASIS EbXML Glossary comes from the ebXML Glossary Version 0.99, 2001, found at http://www.ebxml.org/specs/ebGLOSS.pdf, and is Copyright UN/CEFACT and OASIS, 2001. All Rights Reserved. This material is used with permission. The following copyright notice applies to this material.

This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to the ebXML organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the ebXML Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than English.

Material credited to HL7 is adopted or adapted from one of the following publications and is used with permission:

HL7 Version 3 Standard: Core Principles and Properties of Version 3 Models, Release 1 For Comment Only Ballot 1 - May 2009, found at www.hl7.org/v3ballot/html/infrastructure/coreprinciples/v3modelcoreprinciples.htm and is 2008 Health Level Seven, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

HL7 Version 3 Standard: Specification and Use of Reusable Constraint Templates, Release 2, February 2008 found at www.hl7.org/v3ballot/html/infrastructure/templates/templates.htm and is 2008 Health Level Seven, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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