Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset
BackgroundMedication errors represent a widespread, hazardous, and costly challenge in health care settings. The lack of interoperable medication data within and across hospitals not only creates an administrative burden through redundant data entry but also increases the ris...
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JMIR Publications
2025-05-01
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| Series: | JMIR Medical Informatics |
| Online Access: | https://medinform.jmir.org/2025/1/e64099 |
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| author | Eduardo Salgado-Baez Raphael Heidepriem Renate Delucchi Danhier Eugenia Rinaldi Vishnu Ravi Akira-Sebastian Poncette Iris Dahlhaus Daniel Fürstenau Felix Balzer Sylvia Thun Julian Sass |
| author_facet | Eduardo Salgado-Baez Raphael Heidepriem Renate Delucchi Danhier Eugenia Rinaldi Vishnu Ravi Akira-Sebastian Poncette Iris Dahlhaus Daniel Fürstenau Felix Balzer Sylvia Thun Julian Sass |
| author_sort | Eduardo Salgado-Baez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundMedication errors represent a widespread, hazardous, and costly challenge in health care settings. The lack of interoperable medication data within and across hospitals not only creates an administrative burden through redundant data entry but also increases the risk of errors due to human mistakes, imprecise data transformations, and misinterpretations. While digital solutions exist, fragmented systems and nonstandardized data hinder effective medication management.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess medication data available across the multiple systems of a large university hospital, identify a minimum dataset with the most relevant information, and propose a standard interoperable FHIR-based solution that can import and transfer information from a standardized drug master database to various target systems.
MethodsMedication data from all relevant departments of a large German hospital were thoroughly analyzed. To ensure interoperability, data elements for developing a minimum dataset were defined based on relevant medication identifiers, the Health Level 7 Fast Health Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard, and the German Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) specifications. To enhance medication identification accuracy, the dataset was further enriched with information from Germany’s most comprehensive drug database and European Standard Drug Terms (EDQM) to further enrich medication identification accuracy. Finally, data on 60 frequently used medications in the institution were systematically extracted from multiple medication systems used in the institution and integrated into a new structured, dedicated database.
ResultsThe analysis of all the available medication datasets within the institution identified 7964 drugs. However, limited interoperability was observed due to a fragmented local IT infrastructure and challenges in medication data standardization. Data integrated and available in the new structured medication dataset with key elements to ensure data identification accuracy and interoperability, successfully enabled the generation of medication order messages, ensuring medication interoperability, and standardized data exchange.
ConclusionsOur approach addresses the lack of interoperability in medication data and the need for standardized data exchange. We propose a minimum set of data elements aligned with German and international coding systems to be used in combination with the FHIR standard for processes such as the digital transfer of discharge medication prescriptions from intensive care units to general wards, which can help to reduce medication errors and enhance patient safety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ca4a3d5a40a94bbfa94165260ee32493 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2291-9694 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Medical Informatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-ca4a3d5a40a94bbfa94165260ee324932025-08-20T03:09:11ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Medical Informatics2291-96942025-05-0113e6409910.2196/64099Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core DatasetEduardo Salgado-Baezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2207-8493Raphael Heidepriemhttps://orcid.org/0009-0005-6690-7144Renate Delucchi Danhierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8247-815XEugenia Rinaldihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0343-6400Vishnu Ravihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0359-1275Akira-Sebastian Poncettehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4627-7016Iris Dahlhaushttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2348-4744Daniel Fürstenauhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8490-7707Felix Balzerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1575-2056Sylvia Thunhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3346-6806Julian Sasshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2068-7765 BackgroundMedication errors represent a widespread, hazardous, and costly challenge in health care settings. The lack of interoperable medication data within and across hospitals not only creates an administrative burden through redundant data entry but also increases the risk of errors due to human mistakes, imprecise data transformations, and misinterpretations. While digital solutions exist, fragmented systems and nonstandardized data hinder effective medication management. ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess medication data available across the multiple systems of a large university hospital, identify a minimum dataset with the most relevant information, and propose a standard interoperable FHIR-based solution that can import and transfer information from a standardized drug master database to various target systems. MethodsMedication data from all relevant departments of a large German hospital were thoroughly analyzed. To ensure interoperability, data elements for developing a minimum dataset were defined based on relevant medication identifiers, the Health Level 7 Fast Health Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard, and the German Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) specifications. To enhance medication identification accuracy, the dataset was further enriched with information from Germany’s most comprehensive drug database and European Standard Drug Terms (EDQM) to further enrich medication identification accuracy. Finally, data on 60 frequently used medications in the institution were systematically extracted from multiple medication systems used in the institution and integrated into a new structured, dedicated database. ResultsThe analysis of all the available medication datasets within the institution identified 7964 drugs. However, limited interoperability was observed due to a fragmented local IT infrastructure and challenges in medication data standardization. Data integrated and available in the new structured medication dataset with key elements to ensure data identification accuracy and interoperability, successfully enabled the generation of medication order messages, ensuring medication interoperability, and standardized data exchange. ConclusionsOur approach addresses the lack of interoperability in medication data and the need for standardized data exchange. We propose a minimum set of data elements aligned with German and international coding systems to be used in combination with the FHIR standard for processes such as the digital transfer of discharge medication prescriptions from intensive care units to general wards, which can help to reduce medication errors and enhance patient safety.https://medinform.jmir.org/2025/1/e64099 |
| spellingShingle | Eduardo Salgado-Baez Raphael Heidepriem Renate Delucchi Danhier Eugenia Rinaldi Vishnu Ravi Akira-Sebastian Poncette Iris Dahlhaus Daniel Fürstenau Felix Balzer Sylvia Thun Julian Sass Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset JMIR Medical Informatics |
| title | Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset |
| title_full | Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset |
| title_fullStr | Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset |
| title_short | Toward Interoperable Digital Medication Records on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: Development and Technical Validation of a Minimal Core Dataset |
| title_sort | toward interoperable digital medication records on fast healthcare interoperability resources development and technical validation of a minimal core dataset |
| url | https://medinform.jmir.org/2025/1/e64099 |
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