HL7 Launches New Membership Program and Webpage for Caregivers

ANN ARBOR -- Health Level Seven International, a developer of interoperability standards for healthcare IT, Thursday announced a pilot membership program and Web page to encourage clinician caregivers to participate in the process of developing standards for electronic health records.

"We have always valued the contributions of caregivers -- the physicians, nurses, pharmacist, and others in the healthcare continuum. These clinicians are best suited to provide input about the usability, interface design, and workflow demands of electronic health records," said Charles Jaffe, M.D., CEO of HL7. "Yet, for several years, the HL7 leadership has voiced its concerns about the typical first encounter with the standards development process. We are now in a better position to translate the practical clinical expertise of these caregivers into tangible improvements in the interaction with the health record technology."

Caregiver membership is open to physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others who are involved in direct patient care. The annual membership is $100. More information is available at www.HL7.org/caregivers or by visiting HL7.org and clicking on "Join HL7."

"My participation in HL7 has allowed me to make a tangible impact on how technology is used in healthcare. I reap the benefits in a very practical way as I apply technology within my institution," said Feliciano Yu, M.D., a practicing pediatrician and chief medical information officer at St. Louis Children's Hospital and co-chair of the HL7 Child Health Work Group.

With an HL7 Caregiver Membership, clinicians can:
* Help ensure that standards adopted for healthcare IT (HIT) offer real and practical value in supporting the information exchange between health providers that is essential to coordinating patient care.
* Improve the quality and usability of the HIT standards developed by HL7 and, ultimately, the EHR products that use them.
* Network with HL7 members who are nationally recognized experts in HIT.
* Share knowledge and gain insight on how the use of data standards affects clinical practice in supporting patient care and improving quality and efficiency.
* Have the information they need to make informed decisions in EHR purchases, and know what to request from vendors.

"HL7 standards are the most widely used in the industry," said Don Mon, PhD, chair, HL7 board of directors. "Caregiver members will not only gain first-hand exposure to the standards and technology that drive clinical summaries, laboratory results, prescriptions, and public health and quality data, they will have a direct channel to influence the clinical technology requirements that support an increasingly patient-centered healthcare system."

Standards development projects currently under way that will benefit from caregiver input in:
* Electronic Health Records System Functional Model, Release 2
* Preoperative Domain Analysis Model (DAM)
* Emergency Medical System DAM
* Neonatal Functional Profile
* Cardiovascular DAM

Functional models and profiles describe requirements for EHR system capabilities. DAMs describe workflow and data requirements within specific domains of care.

Founded in 1987, Health Level Seven International (www.HL7.org) is the global authority for healthcare Information interoperability and standards with affiliates established in more than 30 countries. HL7 is a non-profit, ANSI-accredited standards development organization dedicated to providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information that supports clinical practice and the management, delivery and evaluation of health services. HL7's more than 2,300 members represent approximately 500 corporate members, which include more than 90 percent of the information systems vendors serving healthcare. HL7 collaborates with other standards developers and provider, payer, philanthropic and government agencies at the highest levels to ensure the development of comprehensive and reliable standards and successful interoperability efforts.