HL7 Vocabulary Facilitator Roles, Responsibilities and Tasks

Introduction

This document provides a comprehensive set of roles, responsibilities and tasks to be fulfilled by those who have accepted the responsibility to act as Vocabulary Facilitators for various work groups.

Intrinsic

• Attendance
  • Vocabulary facilitator’s meeting
    • Sunday Q4 “pre-meeting”
      • Ongoing development of resource documentation
      • Update on vocabulary issues
      • Report on harmonization results
      • Announcement on harmonization updates
        • Deadlines
        • Tooling
  • Thursday evening facilitator roundtable
    • Notice of vocabulary proposals
  • Vocabulary tutorials
    • Introductory tutorial – attend one time
    • Advanced tutorial – required attendance every three years to maintain education up-to-date
  • Attend domain work group meeting (as needed)
    • Vocabulary facilitator role presentation to the domain work group
    • Schedule 1 +/- quarter for update from the vocab WG
    • Monitor the domain WG listserv
    • Provide regular updates to/from WG co-chairs
• Subscribe to the Vocab list
• Participate in the development of Vocabulary facilitator related resources
  • Core principles (Chapters 4 and 5)
• Development of skills, knowledge and abilities
  • Working knowledge of tooling
  • Knowledge of good vocabulary practices
  • Knowledge of vocabulary binding

Domain work group focus

• Act as the vocabulary expert for the work group
  • Have familiarity with the domain being supported
  • Have working knowledge of the harmonization proposal template
  • Be able to describe harmonization processes
  • Be clear on the usage of “structural” vs. “clinical” vocabulary
  • Have knowledge of “all” tooling
  • Working knowledge of RoseTree vocabulary functions
    • Updates
• Advise the work group on good vocabulary practices
• Assist the Work group in the construction/selection of value sets for coded attributes
• Act as a liaison between the work group and the vocabulary work group
  • Update the domain WG on Vocab WG activities
  • Update the Vocab WG on domain WG activities
• Be actively involved in the work group activities
• Coordinate with the work group modeling facilitator on active projects
  • Identify and communicate vocabulary changes
    • Validate
    • Confirm
  • Review ballot proposals
• Assist the work group with vocabulary binding
• Assist the work group in the management of vocabulary domains (create, retire, update)

External focus

• Harmonization
  • Prepare harmonization submissions
  • Attend harmonization meetings when submissions are being considered
• OID registry
  • Register code systems
• Facilitate communication between external terminology Standards Development Organizations and the work group
• Represent vocabulary issues to the TSC/Steering division