Standards to support information systems integration in anatomic pathology.

Abstract

Abstract Context.—Integrating anatomic pathology information— text and images—into electronic health care records is a key challenge for enhancing clinical information exchange between anatomic pathologists and clinicians. The aim of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) international initiative is precisely to ensure interoperability of clinical information systems by using existing widespread industry standards such as Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) and Health Level Seven (HL7). Objective.—To define standard-based informatics transactions to integrate anatomic pathology information to the Healthcare Enterprise. Design.—We used the methodology of the IHE initiative. Working groups from IHE, HL7, and DICOM, with special interest in anatomic pathology, defined consensual technical solutions to provide end-users with improved access to consistent information across multiple information systems. Results.—The IHE anatomic pathology technical framework describes a first integra...