This book focuses on the development and use of interoperability
standards related to healthcare information technology (HIT) and
provides in-depth discussion of the associated essential aspects. The
book explains the principles of conformance, examining how to improve
the content of healthcare data exchange standards (including HL7 v2.x,
V3/CDA, FHIR, CTS2, DICOM, EDIFACT, and ebXML), the rigor of conformance
testing, and the interoperability capabilities of healthcare
applications for the benefit of healthcare professionals who use HIT,
developers of HIT applications, and healthcare consumers who aspire to
be recipients of safe and effective health services facilitated through
meaningful use of well-designed HIT.
Readers will understand the common terms interoperability, conformance,
compliance and compatibility, and be prepared to design and implement
their own complex interoperable healthcare information system. Chapters
address the practical aspects of the subject matter to enable
application of previously theoretical concepts. The book provides
real-world, concrete examples to explain how to apply the information,
and includes many diagrams to illustrate relationships of entities and
concepts described in the text.
Designed for professionals and practitioners, this book is appropriate
for implementers and developers of HIT, technical staff of information
technology vendors participating in the development of standards and
profiling initiatives, informatics professionals who design conformance
testing tools, staff of information technology departments in healthcare
institutions, and experts involved in standards development. Healthcare
providers and leadership of provider organizations seeking a better
understanding of conformance, interoperability, and IT certification
processes will benefit from this book, as will students studying
healthcare information technology.
