Centralized Healthcare Database Standardizing Medical Terminologies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-entity healthcare enterprises face challenges in delivering seamless integration of services due to the use of different medical and other vocabularies and identifiers across constituent organizations, which hinders data sharing and operational integration.
Innovation Solution
A comprehensive database system employing common medical terms, vocabularies, and identifiers to manage organization, location, and service information, providing a user-friendly interface for sharing data between entities and supporting the use of different terminologies through a central repository that distributes information hierarchically across databases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different medical vocabularies and identifiers are used by constituent organizations, then each organization can maintain its own terminology and operational autonomy, but data sharing and operational integration between organizations are hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central repository as an intermediary system that stores standardized medical vocabularies, codes, and identifiers. This mediator enables data exchange between constituent organizations using different terminologies by translating their local terms into the standardized reference terms, thus facilitating data sharing while preserving organizational autonomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The central repository serves multiple functions: it acts as a standardized reference source for all organizations, provides translation services between different terminologies, and enables seamless data integration across the healthcare enterprise. This universal system supports both organizational autonomy and integrated data sharing simultaneously.
2Reliability
If a centralized system is implemented to standardize data across all entities, then data sharing and integration are improved, but the complexity of managing and maintaining the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into a central repository that stores standardized reference data and distributed local systems at constituent organizations that use these references. This segmentation allows the centralized standardization function to be separated from local operational functions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable data integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The central repository pre-stores standardized vocabularies, codes, and identifiers before they are needed for data exchange. This preliminary preparation of reference data eliminates the need for complex real-time translation and normalization processes, simplifying the integration mechanism while ensuring reliable data sharing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If local or proprietary terms are supported at constituent organizations, then organizational flexibility and customization are maintained, but consistency and standardization across the enterprise are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The central repository acts as a mediator that maps local and proprietary terms to standardized reference terms. This allows organizations to maintain their flexible local terminologies while ensuring that all data can be consistently translated and integrated through the standardized reference system, thus maintaining both organizational flexibility and enterprise-wide data consistency.
Data Source
AI summary
A comprehensive database system employs common medical terms, vocabularies and identifiers in identifying organizational characteristics as well as location availability and suitability for delivering services by a particular physician to a patient with particular medical conditions via a user friendly display interface. A system for providing healthcare related information comprises a database incorporating information identifying an encompassing organization and multiple constituent organizations of the encompassing organization including a constituent organization type identifier. The database information also incorporates location information identifying multiple locations in a constituent organization available to accommodate a patient for different purposes and includes a location type identifier. An interface processor employs the database in supporting business applications of an organization and in providing a user with service and location information related to a particular constituent organization in response to user command.