hi Thilo >> I would like to ask you for your opinion on a statement in ISO/DTR 20514 >> (Definition, scope and context of the EHR), which says that "[...] a >> standardised EHR reference model is required for achieving functional >> interoperability [...]" (page 7 of ISO 20514). >> >> Functional interoperability is defined as "the ability of two or more >> systems to exchange information (so that it is human readable by the >> receiver)". >> >> I am now wondering why an EHR reference model is seen to be REQUIRED for >> achieving functional interoperability. If I exchange bare PDF-documents >> (without any describing metadata) between two EHR systems, then I would say >> there is a good chance that these docs are readable by a human receiver and >> thus functional interoperability should be achieved although clearly an EHR >> reference model is not used.
well, not so fast. If you are exchanging pdf documents, you need some rules about how they are exchanged, and when, and then what happens as a consequence. These can be rather informal, but nevertheless, they must exist. And once they do, aren't you on the way to have an EHR reference model? Then there's the question of interoperability. Generally what you describe is *integration* not interoperability. Picking these two apart is a fun game, but generally inteoperability is more about plug-n-play where as integration is about two systems made to work together. As you move your example from two to many systems, you'll be increasingly moving towards a standardised EHR reference model. And there's no semantic anything in sight yet! Grahame
