Vocabulary and RIM Harmonization Process

Background and Objectives

When HL7 first considered developing a single Reference Information Model (RIM) for use in all of the HL7 technical committees (as they were then known), it adopted a process of "RIM Harmonization" to assure that:

• There was a formal process for review and adoption of change proposals
• The process would include representation from all interested groups within HL7
  • (and from external Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) that wished to collaborate)
• The representatives would reach consensus before approving a proposal
• An updated, documented, "approved" RIM would be available at each HL7 Working Group Meeting to allow progress on the RIM-based standards being developed in HL7

Prior Content and History

This Page was initiated by Russ Hamm May 17, 2010

I moved two prior Harmonization-related sub-items (that had been listed under MnM on the "Main page") here, because as this page is completed, this is where those links belong. GWBeeler

• Harmonization Wiki Template

  This template came into being in 2006, but has never been formally used as a harmonization source path. I (GWBeeler) suggest this be dropped for the following reason(s):

  • The current proposal management process is highly dependent upon being able to extract 'specific data fields from the Word document, and the Wiki template has no facilities that lend themselves to reliable automated parsing.
  • We should focus current improvements on the updating of the Word "template"

• Vocabulary Harmonization Tool

  The Vocabulary Maintenance Language remains a main-stay of vocabulary harmonization processing, but the specific tool linked from here has no active users, and therefore, I (GWBeeler) suggest this link be dropped.