Clinical Terminology and Information
An important way that NEHTA contributes to e-health interoperability is by standardising key clinical information. This covers the format of, and data contained in, clinical communications such as referrals, discharge summaries, pathology results and prescriptions. These specifications will be built upon existing standards, extending these as necessary.
One prerequisite to the safe exchange of clinical information between healthcare providers is establishing a common, coded clinical language or clinical terminology. The concepts and descriptions (or terms) used in clinical communications that describe diagnoses, procedures, therapies, medications, and so on must be accurately and consistently interpreted by all health IT systems and the clinicians that use them.