Standards

Development process

The standards development processes used by HISO for health information standards are based on well-recognised international standard development processes. The development of standards usually involves the use of expert committees and consultation.

The process aligns with three fundamental principles:
Balanced representation – every effort is made to achieve adequate representation from relevant areas of the sector involved, including both government and private sector.

Consensus – at least 80% of the project committee must support the final version of the standard. Difficult issues or reservations are extensively discussed in an effort to achieve resolution.

Independence – although projects are funded by external agencies, this does not mean the process and the product can be ‘bought’. Project proposals are carefully considered by HISO for their strategic relevance and application in the sector.

Diagram showing the standards development process

View larger image of the diagram below

HISO receives project proposals and funding from sector organisations or bodies and considers how and if these proposals fit with the overall strategic objectives for the sector.

If it does, HISO then initiates a Standards project, establishing an expert committee that provides guidance, assistance throughout the standard development process and approval of the finished document that is then published.

Depending on the subject of the standard and the pace of change in the sector, the document may be reviewed or modified.

Why standards?

What is a standard?

A standard is a consensus -based document that is developed by a balanced expert committee taking into consideration input received through public comment consultation. It provides a benchmark or describes fitness for purpose of a product, process or service.

What are the benefits of a standard?

The ultimate aim and benefit of any standard is consumer safety.
The consensus-based process ensures credibility and acceptance of the product, process or service, and:

• provides the basis for national benchmarking and international comparison
• often provides a foundation for training and development within a sector
• often results in a common understanding and approach within a sector

Why are standards important for the health sector?

The New Zealand health and disability sector is a complex network of publicly and privately owned organisations, which uses information and communication systems to help deliver and manage health care and to monitor health and health care delivery. The efficient management of such systems is critical to patient care.

The development and implementation of standards can enhance patient outcomes through:

• improving information access to providers
• improving the efficiency of information delivery processes
• reducing the cost of change to information systems and the implementation of new systems
• helping to develop systems and a culture that maintain the dignity of health consumers, including their privacy.

More specifically, health sector standards can relate to:

• Business process. This relates to a defined health activity such as pharmacy or laboratory services.
• Information. For instance, the way codes are used to describe something. Good examples would be laboratory codes (LOINC), ethnicity or the Health Provider Index, which all need to refer to information in a consistent way.
• Infrastructure, including messaging, that is, the way information is put together so that the system sending it and the system receiving it can both understand it.

Candidate Standards may include:

Business process

• Governance
• Management
• e-Pharmacy
• e-Labs
• Best practice collection

Information

• Data sets
• Data elements
• Data definition
• Coding systems

Infrastructure

• Messaging
• Protocols
• Message structure
• Security policies
• Networks

The proposer of a new standard may be:

• An individual
• An organisation
• An agency
• HISO

Expert Committees may include:

• Balanced and consensus-based
• Sector nominations
• NZHUG
• HISO approved
• HISO supported

HISO outputs to the process may be:

Standard

• Expert committee
• Evidence based
• Public consultation
• Consensus process

Technical specification

• Consensus
• Consultation
• Data
• Fast track process

Guideline

• Guidance
• Implementation – Standard
• Stand-alone process