Health Data Standards

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.

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. (Hospital)

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

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

1) A description of the health data standards your setting uses and how these standards impact documentation and your specific nursing role.

2)Explain how standard development organizations impact your health care setting.

Required Resources

Readings

Saba, V. K., & McCormick, K. A. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter 15, "The Practice Specialty of Nursing Informatics"

In this chapter, the authors explore the connections between various informatics specialties, such as health care informatics and nursing informatics. Focusing primarily on nursing informatics, the chapter provides information on its concepts, establishment, and practice.
Chapter 7, "Health Data Standards: Development, Harmonization, and Interoperability"

This chapter explains the components that are necessary for health data standards to function effectively. Guidelines for interpreting health data standards are also given.
Bokur, D. (2012). To ‘EACH' its own incentive payment: New CCHIT program rewards groups with EHR systems. MGMA Connexion, 12(2), 33-34.

Retrieved from the Walden Library database.

This article explores the EHR Certification Alternative for Health Care Providers (EACH) program that was designed to ensure that EHRs meet the compliances of the HITECH Act. It also discusses the benefits of EACH and how its use can result in a safer health care environment and reward its users along the way.

Heymans, S., McKennirey, M., & Phillips, J. (2011). Semantic validation of the use of SNOMED CT in HL7 clinical documents. Journal of Biomedical Semantics, 2(Suppl. 3), 2-17.

Retrieved from the Walden Library database.

The authors of this article examine the use of SNOMED CT in clinical documents. Prior to its implementation, health care professionals had to ensure the validity of HL7 documents manually. By the end of the study, the authors concluded that the use of SNOMED CT, along with the technologies of OWL, removes the need for health care employees to verify the documents manually.

Kim, W., Lim, S., Ahn, J., Nah, J., & Kim, N. (2010). Integration of IEEE 1451 and HL7 exchanging information for patients' sensor data. Journal of Medical Systems, 34(6), 1033-1041.

Retrieved from the Walden Library database.

This article summarizes some of the shortcomings of the HL7 standard. In addition, the authors propose uniting HL7 with IEEE 1451 in order to ensure better organization and administration in the medical informatics field. Public Health Data Standards Consortium. (2012). Health information technology standards. Retrieved from http://www.phdsc.org/standards/health-information/D_Standards.asp

Optional Resources

Health Level Seven International. (n.d.). Introduction to HL7 standards. Retrieved August 9, 2012, from http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/index.cfm?ref=nav