PCC TF-1/Preface

Preface to Volume 1 of the PCC Technical Framework

Intended Audience

The intended audience of this document is:

• Healthcare professionals involved in informatics
• IT departments of healthcare institutions
• Technical staff of vendors participating in the IHE initiative
• Experts involved in standards development
• Those interested in integrating healthcare information systems and workflows

Related Information for the Reader

The reader of volume 1 should read or be familiar with the following documents:

• Volume 1 of the Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS) Integration Profile documented in the ITI Infrastructure Technical Framework

(See http://www.ihe.net/Technical_Framework/index.cfm ).

• Volume 1 of the Notification of Document Availability (NAV) Integration Profile documented in the ITI Infrastructure Technical Framework

(See http://www.ihe.net/Technical_Framework/index.cfm ).

• Volume 1 of the Audit Trail and Node Authentication (ATNA) Integration Profile documented in the ITI Infrastructure Technical Framework

(See http://www.ihe.net/Technical_Framework/index.cfm ).

• HL7 Clinical Document Architecture Release 2: Section 1, CDA Overview.
• Care Record Summary – Implementation Guide for CDA Release 2 (US Realm): Section 1
• Presentations from IHE Workshop: Effective Integration of the Enterprise and the Health System - June 28–29, 2005: http://www.ihe.net/Participation/workshop_2005.cfm, June 2005:
• Leveraging IHE to Build RHIO Interoperability
• Cross-Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS)
• Notification of Document Availability (NAV)
• Patient Care Coordination
• Use Cases for Medical Summaries
• Patient Care Coordination - Overview of Profiles

How this Volume is Organized

Section 2 describes the general nature, structure, purpose and function of the Technical Framework. Section 3 and the subsequent sections of this volume provide detailed documentation on each integration profile, including the Patient Care Coordination problem it is intended to address and the IHE actors and transactions it comprises.

The appendices following the main body of the document provide a summary list of the actors and transactions, detailed discussion of specific issues related to the integration profiles and a glossary of terms and acronyms used.

Conventions Used in this Document

This document has adopted the following conventions for representing the framework concepts and specifying how the standards upon which the IHE Technical Framework is based should be applied.

Technical Framework Cross-references

When references are made to another section within a Technical Framework volume, a section number is used by itself. When references are made to other volumes or to a Technical Framework in another domain, the following format is used:

<domain designator> TF-<volume number>: <section number>

where:

<domain designator>

is a short designator for the IHE domain (PCC= Patient Care Coordination, ITI = IT Infrastructure, RAD = Radiology)

<volume number>

is the applicable volume within the given Domain Technical Framework (e.g., 1, 2, 3), and

<section number>

is the applicable section number.

For example: PCC TF-1: 3.1 refers to Section 3.1 in volume 1 of the IHE Patient Care Coordination Technical Framework, ITI TF-2: 4.33 refers to Section 4.33 in volume 2 of the IHE IT Infrastructure Technical Framework.

IHE Actor and Transaction Diagrams and Tables

Each integration profile is a representation of a real-world capability that is supported by a set of actors that interact through transactions. Actors are information systems or components of information systems that produce, manage, or act on categories of information required by operational activities in the enterprise. Transactions are interactions between actors that communicate the required information through standards-based messages.

The diagrams and tables of actors and transactions in subsequent sections indicate which transactions each actor in a given profile must support.

The transactions shown on the diagrams are identified both by their name and the transaction number as defined in PCC TF-2 (Volume 2 of the PCC Technical framework). The transaction numbers are shown on the diagrams as bracketed numbers prefixed with the specific Technical Framework domain.

In some cases, a profile is dependent on a prerequisite profile in order to function properly and be useful. For example, Cross-Enterprise Sharing of Medical Summaries depends on Audit Trail and Node Authentication (ATNA). These dependencies can be found by locating the desired profile in the dependencies section of this document to determine which profile(s) are listed as prerequisites. An actor must implement all required transactions in the prerequisite profiles in addition to those in the desired profile.

Process Flow Diagrams

The descriptions of integration profiles that follow include process flow diagrams that illustrate how the profile functions as a sequence of transactions between relevant actors.

These diagrams are intended to provide an overview so the transactions can be seen in the context of an institution’s or cross-institutions’ workflow. Certain transactions and activities not defined in detail by IHE are shown in these diagrams in italics to provide additional context on where the relevant IHE transactions fit into the broader scheme of healthcare information systems. These diagrams are not intended to present the only possible scenario. Often other actor groupings are possible, and transactions from other profiles may be interspersed.

In some cases the sequence of transactions may be flexible. Where this is the case there will generally be a note pointing out the possibility of variations. Transactions are shown as arrows oriented according to the flow of the primary information handled by the transaction and not necessarily the initiator.

Copyright Permissions

Health Level Seven, Inc., has granted permission to the IHE to reproduce tables from the HL7 standard. The HL7 tables in this document are copyrighted by Health Level Seven, Inc. All rights reserved. Material drawn from these documents is credited where used.

IHE has been very fortunate in having the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) help us in the definition of the data found in the Antepartum Summary Profile (APS).

The Antepartum Summary Profile (APS) describes the content structures and specifications the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) views are necessary in an antepartum record. ACOG encourages the use of the content structures contained in the Antepartum Summary Profile of the Patient Care Coordination Technical Framework. ACOG does not endorse any EMR products. Companies or individuals that use these content structures in EMR product or service are prohibited from using ACOG's name and/or its logo on any promotional material, packaging, advertisement, website or in any other context related to the EMR product or service.

Braden Scale For Predicting Pressure Sore Risk, Copyright © Barbara Braden and Nancy Bergstrom, 1988. Reprinted with permission. Barabara Braden and Nancy Bergstrom have granted permission to use the Braden Scale in the IHE Functional Status Assessment Integration Profile to be provided to vendors for demonstration purposes only. Should a vendor chose to include the Braden Scale in their product, they must seek permission to do so from the copyright holders. More information is available from http://www.bradenscale.com/