The international patient summary could standardize medical data exchange globally
Amit Trivedi, Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) director of informatics and health IT standards, explains the purpose of the international patient summary at the HIMSS 2023 meeting. He said this initiative will help support global patient health data exchange.
"One of the exciting initiatives we have been engaging our community in here at HIMSS has been the International Patient Summary, which is a cross-standards development organizations effort," Trivedi explained. "Organizations all over the world have been working to create a single international patient summary that can be used to support global patient health exchange."
This effort will turn into various national extension efforts in each country. He said the effort is supported by the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology and Global Health Digital Partnerships, which is comprised of 33 countries working together to solve health information technology issues.
The summary includes all the basic things needed for a patient record, including a list of their current health issues, medications being taken, allergies, immunizations, vital signs, past history of illness, diagnostic test results, medical devices, pregnancy status and history, the plan of care, and patient demographics. All these points of data are programmed in a standardized way. It is designed for patient data exchange across international borders.
"It was originally developed for cross border patient encounters, such as the European Union, refugee health, tribal health communities within the United States, and between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. These are all opportunities where we do not have any kind of health exchange capabilities, but we could quickly leverage this and bridge the existing health IT infrastructure," Trivedi said.
He said several countries are already using the summary.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com