J Korean Soc Med Inform.  2009 Mar;15(1):1-11.

Clinical Terminologies: A Solution for Semantic Interoperability

• Park HA
• Hardiker N

Abstract

To realize the benefits of electronic health records, electronic health record information needs to be shared seamlessly and meaningfully. Clinical terminology systems, one of the current semantic interoperability solutions, were reviewed in this article. Definition, types, brief history, and examples of clinical terminologieswere introduced along with phases of clinical terminology use and issues on clinical terminology use in electronic health records. Other attempts to standardize the capture, representation and communication of clinical data were also discussed briefly with future needs.

Keyword

Semantic Interoperability; Electronic Health Record; Clinical Terminology; Reference Terminology; Interface Terminology

MeSH Terms

Electronic Health Records
Semantics*

Figure

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  Figure 1 Phases of Terminology Use

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