Jonathan,
You're right about standard DTD's or Schemas. But you need strong datatyping
as well for data attributes, allowable codes, etc. To accomplish this with
XML requires mechanisms betyond the DTD, such as namespaces, and then
ultimately perhaps links, etc. to where the standard schemas, etc. are
avaiable. All of the robustness currently provided by the X12 standard
syntax just is yet there in a full XML architecture. It will get there, but
not today or tomorrow.
Additionally, we don't yet have standard for messaging services XML
documents. This is a key component of the ebXML framework currently being
developed by the joint effort between UN/CEFACT and OASIS and on in which
I'm heavily involved.
Rachel
Rachel Foerster wrote:
> There's one other aspect of the HIPAA rules and that relates to data
content
> in addition to format. The transaction set guides also specify the data
> content and the allowable codes as well. Thus, what we will, hopefully,
see
> is a standard format (not your interpretation of the 837 vs mine) as
wellas
> standard data (not your proprietary codes vs mine).
You've said it better than I did. This is the really big win.
>
> Get the standard data into the standard format is a fairly easy task - the
> challenge will be sourcing the standard data first.
>
> Lastly on the issue of using XML -- since XML is extensible that means
that
> the originator of the XML document gets to choose the tag names. Just
> imagine if you would, a situation where each provider generating a health
> care claim chose not only their on tags but data content along with the
data
> attributes. We'd be even worse off then now, with only (!) 450 +/-
> proprietary formats!
Not necessarily. Defining standard XML DTDs and/or Schemata would be to XML
what the HIPAA transaction set guides are to X12. Standard transfer
protocols e.g. HTTP, SMTP, S/MIME are also needed.
Jonathan Borden
The Open Healthcare Group
http://www.openhealth.org
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