Open standards in medical informatics

Over the last few years, there has been a major effort devoted to formalizing standards for healthcare. It is vital that such standards are fully "open," whether developed by formal standards bodies or otherwise. This paper discusses the various standards developed and in the process of being developed, including information on the standards process with particular reference to medical informatics. It also discusses a recent initiative in the United Kingdom National Health Service to ensure that formal standards are specified in procurements.