Medical Specialty Societies Have a Key Role in Driving Clinical Data Content Standardization, Especially for Reducing Reporting Burden
Medical Specialty Societies Have a Key Role in Driving Clinical Data Content Standardization, Especially for Reducing Reporting Burden
15 PagesThis white paper argues that although EHR adoption has expanded, lack of structured, standardized data elements means clinical information is often captured as free text, limiting its downstream usability. Converting unstructured data via chart reviews or NLP is expensive; sustainable interoperability requires capturing data in standardized fields at the point of care. The authors describe existing efforts: ONC’s US Core Data for Interoperability sets mandatory health data elements, but does not yet include many disease‑specific metrics. The widely used ICD‑10 codes provide standardized diagnoses but lack clinical detail. Specialty societies are encouraged to lead the development and dissemination of content‑focused data standards to reduce reporting burden and improve research.
