Software vendors now have a road map that can enable dentists to use patient health information from other health care professionals.
The Implementation Guide for ANSI/ADA Specification No. 1000 shows software vendors how to apply the electronic health record standard. It is available for review at ADA.org at "www.ada.org/scdi".
The standard was designed to enhance compatibility among information systems used by dentists, physicians and other health care professionals, along with hospitals and health care organizations.
ANSI/ADA Specification No. 1000—Standard Clinical Data Architecture for the Structure and Content of an Electronic Health Record was approved in 2001. Its approval advances a 1996 ADA House of Delegates resolution to promote free exchange of health information across professional borders.
The standard was developed through the work of volunteer members of the ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics, which balances interests between dentists, government, academia and industry. It is the only American National Standard that defines the fundamental data structures used to make patient records and health information. It defines how information systems can be used to make patient records more analogous between dentists, physicians and hospitals.
"We broke a lot of new ground here," says Dr. Mark Diehl, chairman of the working group that developed the standard and the implementation guide. "Implementation of this standard will facilitate interoperability among health care systems."
The Implementation Guide will help vendors tailor the standard to fit their unique requirements. The standard was written to be generic and useable by any developer of health information systems, from an audiologist to a veterinarian, explains Dr. Diehl. In addition, its architecture eases compliance with the Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996 by isolating personal identity from health facts.
For more information on ANSI/ADA Specification No. 1000 and the Implementation Guide to Specification No. 1000, call Paul Bralower at 1-312-587-4129 or e-mail him at "bralowerp{at}ada.org".
