What are ehealth standards?

An “ehealth standard” is an agreed upon rule or format applied to support the definition, exchange and use of data related to any aspect of Health care Information Technology (HIT) activity. 

Example ehealth standards include:

• How to encode diagnostic information (data definition)
• Definition and exchange of discharge summary data (data exchange)
• Client Registry messaging standard (data definition and exchange).

Ehealth Standards enable the successful creation of an Electronic Health Record.

 

Frequently asked questions

Why do we need ehealth standards?

Ehealth standards are designed to address the demand for a more efficient health system that uses data as a resource to improve the delivery of health care, increase patient safety, reduce health care costs and streamline public health reporting. ehealth standards will facilitate the exchange of standardized data among different information systems, across a multitude of organizations. Without eHealth Standards, interoperability amongst many organizations and information systems cannot be achieved.

What is the process used to create ehealth standards?

The process used to develop ehealth standards starts by gathering requirements from those who understand the “business” of providing health care in Ontario – ehealth stakeholders.  After aligning and confirming Ontario requirements, an analysis is conducted against existing ehealth standards e.g. the pan-Canadian or International ehealth standards. This process produces a draft standard that is meaningful to Ontario. Standards development is an iterative process, calling on a strong stakeholder engagement model to confirm and approve the standard.

How are stakeholders engaged to contribute to ehealth standards?

ehealth standards specialists consult with ehealth stakeholders such as government ministries, health agencies, health care providers (individuals and organizations) and software vendors (amongst others) in order to understand and document ehealth business requirements. This knowledge and expertise lays the foundation to identify clinical and administrative data that is being captured, exchanged and subsequently used by other stakeholders. 
 
To date, participation with the broader health care sector has provided invaluable content to Ontario’s eHealth Standards. Here’s what some of the participants have said:

“OntarioMD would like to commend eHealth Ontario on its accomplishment in preparing a draft Discharge Summary Specification for public review…The development of the draft Discharge Summary Specification is a significant milestone which recognizes the importance of the electronic transfer of hospital reports to physician EMRs.”

(Brian Forster, CEO, OntarioMD)

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“The process used and outcomes achieved through the development of an acute care Discharge Summary standard were responsive to the needs of a diverse group of stakeholders. The eHealth Ontario Standards Group is to be commended for their efforts to ensure alignment with international, national and provincial standards while acknowledging the immediate business needs of health service providers to have access to this information in a timely manner.”

(Rodney J. Burns, Chief Information Officer & eHealth Lead North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network)

How is Ontario connected to the standards community?

The ehealth standards Team has a relationship with the standards community at large at provincial, national and international levels. Provincially, we recommend and promote ehealth standards that support Ontario’s eHealth implementations. Nationally, we collaborate with Standards Development / Standards Management Organizations (e.g. Infoway Standards Collaborative) to harmonize Ontario’s requirements. Internationally, we monitor emerging ehealth standards as well as participate in the consensus-building process to harmonize Ontario’s requirements.

eHealth Ontario

eHealth Ontario is embarking on an ambitious journey to provide Ontario with an Electronic Health Record (EHR). An essential part of this undertaking will consist of setting up an ehealth standards program to ensure the successful creation, implementation and maintenance of eHealth standards. This will help eHealth Ontario realize the full potential of the interoperable Electronic Health Record. 

Ontario’s ehealth strategy 2009-2012 (ehealth strategy) provides direction and priorities for the eHealth Ontario with a mandate to provide a single, harmonized and coherent eHealth strategy for Ontario that supports the government’s eHealth agenda (See pg4).  Ontario’s eHealth Strategy also defines the mandate for the Standards Program as a key enabler to the successful realization of the eHealth Ontario Clinical and Foundational Priorities (See pg 34).

eHealth Ontario Standards: Goals

We strive to provide a common reference point and source of truth for all ehealth standards in use in Ontario by:

• Providing clear guidance on appropriate ehealth standards selection criteria
• Providing concise and clear mechanisms on how to work with Ontario, pan-Canadian and international stakeholders in order to develop, harmonize and maintain ehealth standards
• Establishing eHealth Standards solutions that are capable of being integrated into a comprehensive, standardized and interoperable electronic health record
• Providing guidance on ehealth standards use
• Providing clear direction and support to standards–based priority projects that must leverage a standards-based solutions
• Creating a Centre of Excellence / Expertise in Ontario, and
• Developing an eHealth Standards Strategy, in support of Ontario’s eHealth Strategy mandate, which defines Standards as a key enabler to the successful realization of the Clinical and Foundational Priorities.