Presented at the 2000 APIII Conference Return to 2000 Abstract Index
A PATHOLOGY REPORT METADATA REGISTRY: FRAMEWORK FOR SEMANTIC INTEROPERABILITY ACROSS DISPARATE SYSTEMS
National
Library of Medicine
Bethesda, Maryland
Alvin B. Marcelo, MD
Alvin
B. Marcelo, MD, Paul Fontelo, MD, MPH
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland
Pathology reports are very important components of health care delivery in all institutions. Yet, it is one area where standardization is most lacking. In effect, a report made in one hospital, although easily understood by clinicians in another hospital, is not readily assimilated into a different pathology report database. The key issue is in the semantics of terminology and the design of the database system.
This e-poster demonstrates the value of having a common metadata registry that is referenced by all pathology reporting systems. By using this registry, data generated across disparate systems are more easily transported into others with no loss in semantics. The ISO/IEC 11179 clearly specifies how a metadata registry should be built. This e-poster shows an instance of that specification as applied into pathology reporting systems.
