Exploiting the terminological approach from CEN/TC251 and GALEN to support semantic interoperability of healthcare record systems

We apply the principles included in two CEN standards (ENV 12265, ENV 12264) to the analysis of the semantic structure of health record systems, to support their semantic interoperability. This result was made possible by dramatic methodological progress in the field of terminological systems-due to a worldwide evolution towards a new generation-and by the experience we acquired in the GALEN-IN-USE (formerly GALEN) project. The meaning behind names, content and context of record items and record item complexes can be considered as a 'semantic continuum'. This continuum is made explicit, by building a suitable paraphrase in a controlled language. We can then apply the principles we previously elaborated for the second generation of terminological system. Methodology and tools for generating a controlled language and a second-generation terminological system were developed and successfully used in the GALEN-IN-USE project and promising experiments were performed on elements of record structure listed in LOINC and SDM. In this way, the semantic structures of different record systems can be expressed by the resulting common formalism and thus, information units can be faithfully exchanged among different structures. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.