Coming to Terms: Scoping Interoperability for Health Care
Health Level Seven
EHR Interoperability Work Group, 01 February, 2007
The characterization of “interoperability” offered in this white paper is based on an analysis of how the term interoperability is being defined and used in actual practice. Over 100 definitions were collected and the 65 definitions from organizations were closely analyzed. Most definitions were from standards development organizations, health care organizations, professional societies, and government agencies. Of these, approximately two thirds were from organizations relating to health care and about two thirds were from organizations which affect the United States. Substantial differences in how interoperability is defined were identified based on organization type (health care vs. non-healthcare) and, for health care organizations in the United States, based on longevity (years since founding). Three principal types of interoperability were identified: technical interoperability, semantic interoperability, and process interoperability.
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