Summary
Objectives: This review article aims to highlight the importance of standards for effective communication
and provides an overview of international standardization activities.
Methods: This article is based on the experience of the author of European standardization
in CEN, which he leads, and the global work of ISO, where he is leading the security
working group, and an overview of the work of DICOM, IEEE and HL7, partly using their
web presentations.
Results: Health communication is highly dependent of the general development of information
technology with standards coming from ISO/IEC JTC1, ITU and several other organizations
e.g. IETF, the World Wide Web consortium and Open group. A number of standardization
initiatives have been in progress for more than ten years with the aim to facilitate
different aspects of the exchange of health information. Electronic record architecture,
Message structures, Concept representation, Device communication including imaging
and Security are the main areas.
Conclusions: Important results have been achieved, and in some fields and parts of the world,
standards are widely used today. Unfortunately, we are still facing the fact that
most healthcare information systems cannot exchange information with all systems for
which this would be desired. Either the existing standards are not sufficiently implemented,
or the required standards and necessary national implementation guidelines do not
yet exist. This causes unacceptable risks to patients, inefficient use of healthcare
resources, and sub-optimal development of medical knowledge. Fortunately, the different
bodies are now largely co-operating to achieve global consensus.
Keywords
Health informatics - standardization
