ISO/TS 16843-3:2017

Overview - ISO/TS 16843-3:2017 (Moxibustion)

ISO/TS 16843-3:2017 is a Technical Specification from ISO/TC 215 (Health informatics) that defines categorial structures for representation of moxibustion. Part 3 of the ISO/TS 16843 series focuses on moxibustion by specifying a concept system and domain constraints intended for use in terminological resources. The document provides a standardized core model to describe moxibustion components and their semantic relationships for consistent computer processing, terminology development, and data exchange.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Categorial structure and concept system: Defines domain constraints of sanctioned characteristics composed of a semantic link plus characterizing categories.
• Characterizing categories: Standardized categories include moxibustion site, insulating medium, moxibustion device, non-moxa device, moxa device, moxibustion material, irritant, performing method, supplementation/draining method, and dose.
• Semantic links: Specifies relationships such as is applied on, is used for, is placed on, is used in, is used with, and is applied for to express associations between concepts.
• Scope boundaries: Explicitly excludes representation of acupuncture points, indications, prohibitions and effects - focusing instead on the moxibustion process and its structural representation.
• Conformance and documentation: Provides guidance to ensure terminologies and information systems conform to the categorial model for interoperability.

Practical applications and who uses it

ISO/TS 16843-3 supports practical uses where consistent semantic representation of moxibustion is required:

• Terminology developers: Build new or extend existing moxibustion terminological systems in a conformant way.
• Health informatics developers: Model moxibustion procedures in EHRs, clinical decision support, and data exchange formats.
• Researchers and analysts: Enable compositional concept representation for metadata, systematic reviews, text mining and database construction (including processing of historical acupuncture documents).
• Clinicians and coders: Improve consistency of data entry and retrieval related to moxibustion interventions in clinical trials and registries.
• Interoperability and mapping: Facilitate semantic correspondence and mapping between different terminologies and information models for moxibustion.

Related standards

• ISO/TS 16843 (series) - other parts in the acupuncture representation series
• ISO 18666:2015 - referenced for moxibustion materials terminology
• WHO International Standard Terminologies (WHO IST 2007) - source definitions used in the specification

ISO/TS 16843-3:2017 is a practical resource for anyone implementing standardized, machine-processable representations of moxibustion in health informatics, terminology development, research and clinical documentation.