Healthcare data standards are essential for ensuring interoperability, consistency, and efficient communication between different healthcare IT systems and applications. Such standards help in seamless integration of disparate systems, improving the overall quality of healthcare delivery. Among numerous standards, Health Level Seven (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) are two of the most widely recognized and adopted in the healthcare domain.
1. Health Level Seven (HL7):
- DefinitionHL7 is an international standard for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information. It’s a framework and set of standards used for the transfer of clinical and administrative data between software applications used by various healthcare providers.
- Key Features
- Messaging Standards: HL7 defines a set of messaging standards which dictate how information is packaged and communicated from one party to another.
- Clinical Document Architecture (CDA)A standard that defines the structure of certain medical records, such as discharge summaries and progress notes, as a way to better exchange this information.
- Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)A modern HL7 standard that describes data formats and elements and an application programming interface for exchanging electronic health records.
2. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM):
- DefinitionDICOM is the international standard for transmitting, storing, retrieving, printing, and displaying medical imaging information. It ensures that medical images and associated information can be exchanged between different devices and systems without loss of critical data.
- Key Features
- Image Storage and Transfer: DICOM provides standards for the storing and transmitting of medical images such as MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays.
- Meta InformationAlong with the image, DICOM files also carry a wealth of information, including patient details and image details.
- Network CommunicationsDICOM standardizes the communication protocols for connecting medical imaging devices on a network, allowing them to exchange imaging data.
In essence, standards like HL7 and DICOM are foundational to modern healthcare IT. They facilitate interoperability and enhance the quality of care by ensuring that critical health information is available, consistent, and understood across various platforms and devices.
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
Cloud Computing
Computing resources—such as applications, servers, storage, or databases—delivered from remote infrastructure and scaled as requirements change.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Cloud-based servers, storage, and networking that customers configure and manage without owning the underlying data-center hardware.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software accessed as an online service instead of being installed and maintained entirely on the customer’s own computers or servers.
Disaster Recovery (DRaaS)
A plan and service for restoring applications, data, and operations after an outage or disruption. DRaaS provides recovery infrastructure through a managed cloud service.
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
The systems and policies that determine who a user is, what resources they may access, and how that access is authenticated and reviewed.
API
An application programming interface is a defined way for software systems to exchange data or request functions from one another.