Assignment: Health Data Standards Discussion

What are health data standards and how do they relate to your role as an informaticist? Health data standards are the agreed upon representations of nursing data. From the coding of medical processes to documentation formats and terminology definitions, health data standards help to align nursing language. Being knowledgeable in health data standards is imperative to the data aggregation and informatics system selection process. It is the informaticist's responsibility to not only understand the nursing domains of each standard, but also to be educated on the standards development organizations (SDO) that create, maintain, and approve these standards.

In this Discussion, you explore one health data standard of your choosing. For the purposes of this Discussion, do not focus on the standardization of nursing terminologies, as you will examine those in next week's Discussion.

To prepare:

• Review the health data standards presented in this week's Learning Resources.

o How does each provide a framework to align the terminologies and data sets used in health care settings?

• Reflect upon your current health care setting.

o Does your setting currently use any of the standards outlined by a specific organization? Why?

o How might standards impact the documentation processes of your setting? Furthermore, which standards might most apply to you in your work as a nurse?

Note: If you are not currently working in a health care setting, select a setting with which you are familiar for this Discussion.

Post a description of the health data standards(1 or 2) your setting(VHA "Veterans Health Administration) uses and how these standards impact documentation and your specific nursing role (ICU RN Nurse). Explain how standard development organizations impact your health care setting.