XML
Heartbeat By Ken North
DB2 pureXML anchors the patient-oriented
document system of a multi-hospital
healthcare provider
For a decade, academia, government, and industry groups have used XML for document storage and data integration. Database and software providers, including IBM,
recognized the potential of XML early on: they helped define
standards and industry-specific markup languages based
on XML, while working to integrate XML with SQL in their
database platforms. By first releasing the IBM DB2 XML
Extender, Informix Web DataBlade, and Informix XSLT
DataBlade, then more deeply integrating XML support into
the RDBMS servers, IBM and Informix advanced the integration of XML and SQL database processing.
XML is an important enabling technology for multiple
ndustries, particularly industries with complex integration, archiving, and compliance requirements. In particular, the healthcare industry can exploit service-oriented
architectures (SOAs) and SQL/XML-powered databases
for building new applications while addressing compliance and standards issues—and for supporting electronic
medical records systems.
The rise of XML in healthcare
The rise of XML in the healthcare industry has been driven
partly by legislation intended to protect patients’ security
and privacy, including the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Enacted by the U. S. Congress
c
is
to protect insurance coverage, HIPAA includes standards for
electronic transactions and provisions for the privacy and
security of data and applies to claim, payment, benefit inquiry,
claim status, and other transactions. HIPAA also requires the
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to define rules
for the dissemination of healthcare information.
Translating those requirements into usable standards
often the work of standards-development organizations;
one of the most prominent in the healthcare industry is
Health Level Seven (HL7). HL7 produces standards for
operations involving the exchange of administrative and
clinical data in healthcare domains, including claims
processing, imaging, and pharmacy (see sidebar, “HIPAA
and HL7”). The healthcare industry has also developed
specifications for an operational data model and study data
tabulation model (Clinical Data Interchange Standards
Consortium). These standards apply to communication
between internal systems and external entities, such as the
U. S. Food and Drug Administration.
New standards in various industries, including health-are, have prompted development of XML-enabled applications. This new wave of technology means that we can
build applications—often composite applications using SOA
plumbing—to access medical data with a combination of
interoperable services and rich database support for XML.
