Health informatics — Principles and guidelines for the measurement of conformance in the implementation of terminological systems

This document defines what is meant by conformance with respect to terminology systems, particularly as applied to electronic health record (EHR) systems. It provides a framework of good practices for terminology system maintenance and principles to ensure conformance. The primary focus is the application of terminology to EHR systems, although the principles and guidelines can be applied broadly in health informatics.

Considerations are provided for keeping terminology systems and associated reference material clinically and/or technically relevant and valid. These include governance models and practices, high-level processes, and requirements for managing the change.

Main sections:

· Scope

· Objective

· Purposes for conformance

· Conformance process

· Terminology artefact conformance considerations

· Terminology usage conformance considerations

· Sharing and persisting conformance expectations

· Asserting conformance

· Evaluating conformance statements

· Verifying conformance

· Other considerations