Integrating a Categorial Structure for Clinical Practice into EHRs.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Informatics

Background:

• Global demand for digital health ecosystems to support person-centered, predictive, preventative, participatory, and precision (5p) health.
• Need for standardized data structures to facilitate data flow and information exchange across clinical disciplines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an updated technical standard for a generic clinical categorial structure.
• To demonstrate how this structure supports 5p healthcare within digital ecosystems.
• To outline the linkage of this structure to standard terminologies and EHR/EMR architectures.

Main Methods:

• Development of a generic clinical categorial structure based on 20+ years of nursing practice categorization.
• Integration within a cloud-based openEHR platform.
• Linking the structure to standard terminologies and electronic health record (EHR)/electronic medical record (EMR) system architectures.

Main Results:

• The updated generic clinical categorial structure effectively represents multiple clinical domains.
• The structure facilitates data exchange required for 5p healthcare support.
• Successful linkage to standard terminologies and EHR/EMR architectures was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• Adoption of the generic clinical categorial structure in digital health ecosystems, supported by openEHR, enables 5p healthcare.
• The standardized structure enhances interoperability and data exchange for person-centered care.
• This approach provides a robust foundation for future digital health advancements.