NAACCR Data Standards Activities to Achieve Interoperability Ken

NAACCR Data Standards Activities to Achieve Interoperability Ken Gerlach, Chair NAACCR Interoperability Ad Hoc Committee June 12, 2008 NAACCR Annual Conference Denver, Colorado

NAACCR’s Number One Priority n Achieve syntactic and semantic interoperability of cancer registration standards with national standards by 2010 or at the earliest possible time.

Interoperability Ad Hoc Committee Structure Interoperability Ad Hoc Committee (Chair, Ken Gerlach) Semantic Interoperability Work Group (Chair, Gary Levin) Syntactic Interoperability Work Group (Chair, Beth Anne Schmidt) Pathology Data Work Group (Chair, Eric Durbin) Clinical Data Work Group (Co-chairs, Ken Gerlach and Jim Martin)

Context & Background n n Standards Volumes I and II u Starting in ~1994 t (UDSC Convened 1987) u Data Dictionary: definitions & codes u Data exchange record layout – column format Electronic Reporting - Cancer Abstracts u National Standards for transmission

Definitions

Interoperability (IO) n The ability of different information technology systems, software applications and networks Ability of to diverse communicate, to exchange systems data and accurately, efficiently and to work organizations consistently, andtogether to use(inter-operate) the information that has been exchanged n Source: The National Alliance for Health Information Technology

Semantic – Syntactic n n Semantic IO: the ability to exchange and use data; allows the exchange of both – meaning structure and meaning Semantic (of terms or of communication vocabularies) among systems Syntactic IO: the ability. Syntactic to exchange data; – rules of refers to the ability for adifferent languagesystems to interpret interfaces, interchange formats, messaging standards, etc

Why? n n n Increased emphasis on electronic health records (EHR) u State of the Union - 2004 focus u Health IT National Coordinator u Secretary Leavitt’s Leadership Standards for electronic transmissions are being set We want to be at the table to ensure cancer registry needs are met

IO Ad Hoc Committee Work Groups

Semantic IO WG Goal: Achieve semantic IO of cancer registry data items with national standards n Activities n Dates n National Provider Identifiers (NPI) n Race n ca. DSR n

Dates – Data Items Current u Format - MMDDYYYY u Extra information: e. g. ‘ 8888’ n Proposed u Format – t YYYYMMDD t YYYYMM t YYYY u Flag fields n

Syntactic IO WG Goal: Achieve syntactic IO of cancer registry data items with national standards n Activities n Education u Tool Kit u Webinar n ca. DSR n

Pathology Data Work Group n n n Goal: Develop messaging standards to facilitate the transmission of electronic pathology reports from anatomical pathology laboratories to cancer registries Activities Electronic Pathology Data Items - for Volume II Volume V, Version 2. 1 u Updates & CAP Cancer Checklists Messaging Workbench (MWB) u Posted Profile & Link Started Upgrade to HL 7 Version 2. 5. 1 u Secretary Leavitt’s Recommendation

Clinical Data Work Group n n n Goal: Explore alternate mechanisms or messages to transmit and receive (within and outside the cancer registry community) the cancer abstract (Volume II) to ensure consistency with national standards-related organizations Activities Pros – Cons of Change HL 7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) The Pilot: hospital to central u Protocol u Transformations u Implementation Diagram u Time Line u Implementation Guide

Volume II Format Examples

Copyright Alschuler Associates, LLC 2006 Sample CDA 17

National Health Information Technology (IT) Initiatives

Tsunami of Acronyms

National Health IT Initiatives HITSP ( Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel) n IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) n PHDSC (Public Health Data Standards Consortium) n HL 7 (Health Level Seven) n PERC (Pathology Electronic Reporting Committee) n

Lessons Learned & Challenges n n n n Semantic & Syntactic concepts – hard to separate Avalanche of information; multiple organizations Where to put our energy / efforts Takes time Need expertise e. g. HL 7 We’re on a learning curve There is not an existing trail to follow…we are trail blazing

Thank you n Acknowledgements u Committee and Work Group members u Lori Havener