TSMI - A CEN TC251 STANDARD FOR TIME SPECIFIC PROBLEMS IN HEALTH-CAREINFORMATICS AND TELEMATICS/

Time is the most important variable in healthcare, and standards are n eeded about how to represent information with explicit references to t ime. In this paper, the European Prestandard 'TSMI: time standards for healthcare specific problems' (CEN/TC251 preENV 12381) is presented w hich aims to be the first contribution to this harmonisation process, focusing on 'representation' and 'explicit reference' of temporal info rmation in healthcare. The prestandard is mainly composed of two parts . First, the basic building blocks for modelling time-related informat ion are introduced, and a formal representation scheme proposed. In a second part, conformance rules and principles for Healthcare Data and Information as well as for Healthcare Information Systems, are covered . (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.