Since the very first day of my healthcare IT consulting I was struck by the lack of consistency among the definitions we employ for even the most basic components of electronic healthcare. At first, I referenced the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Definitional Model , but with each subsequent consultation I found myself inexorably slipping into definitions of my own making. Now, the National Alliance for Health Information Technology is leading an effort for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to develop consensus-based definitions for key health information technology terms. Soon, they will be conducting forums and comment periods where our thoughts and recommendations can be aired.
Here is how to participate:
“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.” Richard Feynman (1918-1988)
