Standards form the basis for our work in informatics, whether involving how we store, transmit, or retrieve data.
A few standards form a good starting point:
- Logical Observations Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC). The LOINC database defines standardized codes to describe the majority of laboratory tests. LOINC provides a set of shared codes so that different laboratories can have a common means to describe the tests that they perform. One can think of LOINC codes as describing the question or test. Other vocabularies such as SNOMED can provide common codes for potential answers.
- Health Level Seven (HL7). HL7 is simply a messaging standard. It defines how institutions should transmit health information. It provides a standards so that both sending and receiving institutions can consistently find certain information in the appropriate types and place within electronic messages.
- Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED). SNOMED terms provide standardized vocabulary terms and codes to describe much of clinical medicine. The SNOMED license is made possible by a generous nationwide license purchased by the National Library of Medicine
Informatics Interest Group (SIIG)