CEN/TC251, ISO/TC215 and HL7 Launch Joint Working Group
Health IT News report on the talks between the various standards groups that took place recently in Brisbane, Australia:
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – The standards groups that met here at the end of August to work on developing health informatics standards that can be used around the world, are already preparing for their next work session in Dublin Oct. 2.The Brisbane meeting was an inaugural one for the far-flung organizations, and it resulted in “significant and positive development towards the harmonization,” according to the newly established joint council.
CEN/TC251, ISO/TC215 and HL7 launched their Joint Initiative Council and Joint Working Group at the meeting and also agreed on a slate of projects.
CEN/TC251 is the European Committee for Standardization Technical Committee for Health Informatics; ISO/TC215 is the International Standards Organization Technical Committee for Health Informatics. HL7, or Health Level 7, is an American standards development organization.
Together, the groups agreed to work on standards for:
• EHR communications architecture • Joint data types standard • Care information model standards requirements • Patient and medication safety standards.
Members of the Joint Initiative Council and the Joint Working Group said their work would build on existing agreements and recognize existing standards collaboration work already in place.
They formed the joint council and joint working group, they said, in response to a call for coordination and collaboration from governments, health providers and vendors around the world.
“The contribution of the many experts from each of the SDOs [standards development organizations], all working together, is a huge strength of the Joint Working Group and we fully support this collaborative work that is so essential in delivering shared care through interoperability of our health information systems,” said HL7’s Ed Hammond, the newly elected chairman of the Joint Initiative Council.
The next meeting of the Joint Working Group is scheduled to coincide with the CEN/TC 251 meetings at Dublin on Oct. 2.