EN ISO 21090:2011 PDF

Overview

EN ISO 21090:2011 (ISO 21090:2011) - Health informatics - Harmonized data types for information interchange - defines a coherent, healthcare-focused set of datatypes to support reliable information exchange across health information systems. The standard declares datatype semantics using ISO/IEC 11404 terminology, provides UML 2.0 models and an XML representation, and is primarily intended for defining external interfaces and messages used in healthcare interoperability.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Datatype definitions and semantics: a harmonized collection of healthcare-related datatypes (basic, coded, text, binary, identifiers, names, addresses, quantities, collections, continuous sets, uncertainty, structured text).
• Conformance model: rules for direct and indirect conformance to ensure consistent implementations across systems.
• Modeling representations:
  • ISO/IEC 11404 mapping for formal datatype semantics.
  • UML 2.0 class models for systems design and documentation.
  • XML-based representation (with normative XML mapping and schema) for message and interface exchange.
• Normative references: alignment with standards commonly used in healthcare IT (e.g., ISO/IEC 8601 for dates/times, ISO/IEC 4217 for currencies, UCUM for units).
• Annexes: normative XML and UML support types; informative mappings (e.g., HL7 V3 ADT mappings, RM-ODP viewpoints) and XML schema examples.

Applications and who uses it

EN ISO 21090 is aimed at practitioners designing and implementing interoperable health IT systems:

• EHR / EMR vendors: to standardize external interfaces and message payloads.
• Health informatics architects: to model data consistently across applications using UML.
• Integration engineers and middleware developers: to implement XML-based interfaces and validate conformance.
• Standards and interoperability teams (HL7, IHE): to map and align local datatypes with a harmonized international set.
• Clinical registries and health information exchanges: to ensure consistent representation of identifiers, codes, quantities, names and addresses.

Practical benefits include improved message interoperability, reduced ambiguity in datatype use (e.g., coded datatypes vs. text), and a ready-to-use foundation for designing external interfaces between systems.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 11404 - General-Purpose Datatypes (semantic foundation)
• HL7 V3 - data type requirements and mappings
• ISO 13606, CEN/TS 14796 - healthcare messaging and archetype influences
• ISO/IEC 8601, ISO/IEC 4217, UCUM, and various IETF/W3C specs used in XML and encoding

Using ISO 21090 promotes consistent healthcare data types, better interoperability, and clearer interface specifications across health information systems.