HIMSS is honored to accept the delegation from ANSI* for the secretariat position of the ISO/TC* 215.
In the healthcare industry, the word standards is frequently heard. There are different types of standards. Some define quality of patient care and competent care givers while other standards provide for communication between computer systems.
Computer communication standards, often identified as messaging standards are easily understood in the following example: The reason that all light bulbs of a specific size made by any company fit into the same socket is that the threads on the light bulb meet a specific standard.
Messaging standards allow any computer system from any company to communicate. As the world moves toward paperless computerized information systems, software also must communicate. In healthcare, communication between all information systems is an absolute necessity for safe quality patient care.
The healthcare standards world is a specialized one of standard development organizations, those who use standards to develop new equipment or software, government agencies, professional associations and care providers.
In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is accredited by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO has over 200 technical committees (TC), whose subjects range from healthcare informatics (TC215) to plastics (TC61) and others. ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 147 countries, on the basis of one member per country (ANSI for the USA).
HIMSS accepted the delegation for TC215 from ANSI, as the accredited standard development organization, ANSI may elect to keep the secretariat position or delegate it to another organization.
ISO/TC 215 has six working groups, electronic health record and modeling, messaging, healthcare concepts and terminologies, privacy and security, smart cards, and e-pharmacy and medicines business. Each of these groups is working on standards development in their specific areas.
Currently, 24 countries are participant countries in TC 215 including the US with another 14 as observer countries involved in this important work. Most of the formal balloting process is done electronically, however 1-2 times per year as many of the group as possible meet in a plenary session.
For additional information contact:
Audrey E. Dickerson, MS, RN
HIMSS Manager of Standards Initiatives
230 East Ohio Street
Suite 500
Chicago, Illinois 60611-3269.
Secretary ISO/TC 215 on Health Informatics
Administrator for the US TAG for ISO/TC 215
http://www.himss.org
Phone: 312 915 9233
E-mail: adickerson@himss.org
