HB 172.2:2006

Part 2 of a two-part Handbook, which examines the different messaging Standards available for implementation and provides a guide for choosing which Standard suits which application.

Scope

This Handbook provides guidance on a descriptive Message Usage Model (MUM), which:
outlines on existing healthcare messaging Standards currently used in Australia; and
describes proposed usage of messaging Standards for Australian use (i.e. those that already exist on the ‘drawing board’).
Whilst this Handbook lists and defines the national messaging requirements between information systems, it also:
concentrates on the high priority area of inter-enterprise (and optionally intra-enterprise) information interchange;
lists the international Standards that have been developed for the technical interoperability of information systems in this area;
outlines the processes that describe how Australian messaging requirements are considered in international health informatics projects; and
has been developed in such a manner that it may be expanded at a later date.
It is important to note that the MUM is not targeted at solving issues of data integrity, communication, overall security, and others inherent when investigating intra-enterprise data exchange. Some of these wider complementary issues are discussed in HB 172.1.
It is equally important to note that it is not within this document’s scope to address wider complementary issues such as:
Accreditation and certification issues, namely:
current industry perspectives;
incentives and disincentives;
options for national accreditation and certification models (e.g. for evaluating health informatics Standards conformance); and international accreditation and certification issues (including interaction with international agencies) etc.
The need for an analysis statement as to the likely impact of any related high-level policy statement on the healthcare sector in Australia, particularly software vendors and on national government projects.