Defining health data elements under the HL7 development framework for metadata management.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Data Standardization
• Metadata Management

Background:

• Health data heterogeneity across specialties creates semantic communication barriers in systems.
• Diverse data formats and meanings hinder data exchange among heterogeneous healthcare systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a national health concept data model (HCDM).
• To create a system for healthcare data standardization.
• To achieve centralized metadata management for health data.

Main Methods:

• A bottom-up approach referencing HL7 RIM was used to build HCDM structure and metadata from 55 datasets across 7 health domains in China.
• A top-down approach following ISO/IEC 11179 standards was applied for data element standardization.
• Developed 12 controlled vocabularies from HL7 and health demands to specialize domain data elements.

Main Results:

• The HCDM features a three-level architecture (class, attribute, data type) with 6 classes and 15 sub-classes.
• 100 initial data elements and 144 general data elements were extracted and derived.
• A model-based system was established for evaluating and managing the National Health and Health-related Data (NHDD).

Conclusions:

• The HCDM offers a unified metadata reference for standardizing and managing multi-source health data.
• This approach provides a feasible solution for health information standardization.
• The developed model enables enhanced healthcare interoperability within China.