Vocabulary Quality Assurance Project

Project to clarify expected practices and process for WG when using coded vocabulary

Overview

Project Insight 1196
TSC Tracker 8405

Scope

Define and communicate consistent set of QA requirements and describe processes that can be used to implement these requirements for decentralized development of terminology artifacts used across all HL7 product families, coupled with a centralized governance structure. These processes would be followed by all HL7 groups, I.E.: all HL7 standards that reference terminology. This project will not include implementation of the processes documented; the deliverable will be a process document to be implemented via a different project.

Need

It has become apparent that the terminology published in HL7 artifacts does not demonstrate the quality and consistency generally required for interoperability among modern HIT systems. In addition, HL7 internal consistency and harmonization has become increasingly difficult due to a lack of standardized quality processes applied to terminology artifacts across the different projects. This problem has resulted in excessive effort and resource use.

Project Risks

1. Difficulty in determining current actual terminology use practices that are critical to individual product family success so that improved proposed processes will not impair continued success
   1. Each product family and critical HL7 organizational components SHALL actively participate.
2. Significant terminology quality issues currently exist in existing HL7 standards. Different processes will be required to address existing issues. We expect that process to address existing quality issues will in part be derived from the outcome of this project, but cannot dictate our deliverable that is intended to be implemented in current and future HL7 activities.
   1. Track issues as they are identified, note that process for fixes for existing material will need to be defined later on. In essence, set determining the process for fixing the specific pre-existing issues aside. Spend our time working on a process to avoid future instances of the issue.

Project Processes

This project will use DropBox as a collaborative document sharing process during the formative draft development process. If you are interested in viewing the current draft please attend the meetings. If you are interested in participating in the editing and review of the drafts, please send a request to get access to the dropbox folder to Rob McClure ( rmcclure AT mdpartners.com ).

Requirements

Vocab QA Requirements

Conference Call Schedule and Minutes

Changed call time to Monday 2p ET for 60min - USA is now on STANDARD TIME so ET is UTC-5

For the Nov. 9 call only, we are using Ted Klein's JOin.me web share. See Below

Call Info: Standard Vocabulary phone line: Phone: +1 770-657-9270, Participant Code: 598745

Webmeeting Info: join.me info; https://join.me/tedsnewsessions Click on 'Knock to enter'. You may have to download a small plugin

Agenda for next meeting Nov 9

1. Admin
   1. Rob McClure can not attend. Ted Klein can run call.
   2. Co-sponsor participants
      1. Confirm Woody and Lloyd.
      2. Need to get a CIMI participant
2. Primary item: Discussion of "Vocabulary rigor approach" as devised by the EHR/Security VocabAlign project.
   1. Zip of documents to be discussed here:
3. Discussion on best approach to begin collecting information on QA issues across products.
4. Continue putting ideas on wiki page

Core Documents

1. Project Scope Statement HERE
2. Draft project goals HERE
3. HL7 Peer-review Process approach HERE

Minutes documents

2015-02-05_Minutes
2015-02-12_Minutes
2015-03-05_Minutes
2015-03-19_Minutes
2015-05-26_TQA_minutes
2015-06-09_TQA_minutes
2015-07-07_TQA_minutes
2015-07-21_TQA_minutes
2015-08-18_TQA_minutes
2015-09-01_TQA_minutes
2015-09-28_TQA_minutes
2015-10-12_TQA_minutes
2015-10-26_TQA_Minutes
2015-11-09_TQA_Minutes