Your Guide To Healthcare Data Standards
You've probably come across the acronyms HL7 and FHIR if you've spent any time reading about healthcare data. You've come to the right site if you've ever wondered what HL7 is or what FHIR stands for. To assist you to comprehend healthcare data blog posts, white papers, product spec sheets, and more, we've put up a glossary of words.
What are the definitions of healthcare data standards?
Let's start with a definition of healthcare data standards. There were no standards in place for how data was recorded, kept, or used when computers, the internet, and, more specifically, electronic health records (EHRs) first were extensively used.
Healthcare providers, on the other hand, are unable to share patient data in a format that can be easily utilized or understood by another provider or system without the usage of standards. The gold standard of interoperability is having systems that communicate with one another, and uniform use of healthcare data standards is the starting point for interoperability.
Since there were no standards in existence when healthcare data was first collected, they have evolved to try to address the problem. There are now a slew of healthcare data standards in place, both in the United States and around the world, that address terminology, data formatting, and storage and transfer. HL7 and FHIR are two of the most widely utilized data-transfer standard systems.
What is HL7?
One of the largest standards development organizations (SDOs) in healthcare is Health Level Seven (HL7). The American National Standards Institute has accredited it as an international organization (ANSI). It was formed in 1987 to create a comprehensive framework and standards for electronic health data exchange, integration, and sharing, as well as retrieval.
What is HL7v2?
HL7 version 2 is an HL7-developed healthcare messaging standard. It's a set of guidelines that define how medical data can be transferred from one system to another. A message in HL7v2 is made up of segments, each of which contains different fields of data. Each segment's fields are in a defined order and format. Message types vary depending on the use case; for example, "ADT" messages convey demographic updates, whereas "QBP" messages request immunization history.
What is C-CDA?
Another collection of HL7 standards for the structure and content of electronic documents is the Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA). It is the most used framework for electronic medical papers in the United States. C-CDA has features for both structured and unstructured data and a variety of document templates that can be utilized depending on the situation. There are templates for referral notes and diagnostic imaging reports, for example.
FHIR Or The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources
The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard for exchanging healthcare data electronically was designed by HL7 in 2014. Resources and APIs are the two main components of the FHIR framework.
The data pieces and relationships are defined by resources, which are essential modular components of data. All around the healthcare environment, there are tools for things like patient demographics, drugs, family history, and claims. For specific use scenarios, these resources can be combined. FHIR also provides a set of standards for application programming interfaces (APIs). Instead of a document-based interchange, applications can use the APIs to communicate directly with the data. FHIR makes use of RESTful (Representational State Transfer) interfaces, which are a type of data exchange that includes all of the information required to fulfill the request. It's what the internet is made of and allows healthcare to take advantage of already-developed and well-understood technologies.
In addition to EHR-based sharing, FHIR makes it easy for developers to use healthcare data, and it can be used in mobile phone apps and cloud communications.
Are there any other standards for healthcare data?
FHIR and HL7v2 are just the tips of the iceberg. FHIR is critical because it defines how third parties (apart from EHRs and providers) can access and use healthcare data. However, there are a few more typical healthcare criteria to be aware of:
X12: These standards are used in the healthcare, insurance, supply chain, and other industries to support business-to-business transactions.
UCSD: The United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCIS) is a standardized set of health data that must be supported by all healthcare systems and APIs.
Direct: A technical standard for the secure sharing of personal health information that is commonly used by EHR systems. When sending and receiving health data, it leverages Health Information Service Providers (HISPs), which use encryption and digital signing.
DICOM: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine is a file format and international standard for medical pictures like CT scans, MRIs, and printer images.
SCRIPT: A generic term for a prescription.
CDISC: Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium is a non-profit organization that develops standards for clinical trial data.
A slew of naming and vocabulary requirements sit atop these storage and transportation standards:
ICD-10-CM: An illness and diagnosis classification system developed by the World Health Organization.
CPT: The American Medical Association (AMA) developed CPT (Current Procedure Terminology) for medical operations and services, which is primarily used in billing.
HCPCS: Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System is a more comprehensive variant of CPT.
LOINC: For laboratory testing and clinical observations, LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes) is used.
NPI: Each healthcare practitioner in the United States has a unique NPI (National Provider Identifier).
SNOMED CT: Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms codes include symptoms, procedures, diagnoses, family history, and more.
NDC: National Drug Code is a coding system for pharmaceutical products that incorporates both manufacturer and package numbers, implying that NDCs for drugs packaged in various sizes would differ.
RxNorm: A catalog of all clinical medications and drug delivery devices organized by active components, potency, and dose form to facilitate interoperability.
Final Thought: Healthcare data standards such as HL7, FHIR, and others are enhancing the future of care.
Healthcare data standards offer the industry the building blocks it needs to improve treatment, despite its flaws and limitations. They're the first step toward interoperability, not just between EHRs, but also across innovative apps, payers, the government, and patients. Data that is usable, comprehensible, and accessible may enhance the patient experience and provide insights that will lead to better healthcare for all.
