HL7 Tooling Challenge
Sparx Systems attended the HL7 26th Plenary in Baltimore where the HL7 Tooling Challenge was announced.
HL7 is the global authority on standards for interoperability of health information technology with members in over 55 countries, and the body of work that HL7 has undertaken to develop the standards, for global healthcare reform, is as significant as the reform itself.
As this reform progresses, workforce capacity building and education are the other key issues that must be addressed. A 2006 AHIMA Whitepaper estimated an annual requirement of 6000 well trained professionals and called for increased “collaboration with industry (vendors, facilities, organizations, government) to present new technologies via classroom and alternative presentation delivery modules.” As of 2010 the numbers are in the range of 200-300 per year.
In collaboration with HL7, Sparx Systems is supporting the development of this projected resource requirement, through sponsorship of the HL7 Tooling Challenge and offering the Academic Licensing program. The challenge is to create a UML profile that correctly describes MIF (Model Interchange Format) static models to the extent allowed by the UML language. The submitted profile is then to be used to adapt Enterprise Architect to express the proper HL7 stereotypes as a proof of concept. Industry stakeholders from all communities in the global health domain are encouraged to accept this challenge, details of which can be found here: http://www.hl7.org/events/toolingchallenge.cfm?ref=announce
For universities, colleges and other teaching institutions delivering health informatics programs, Academic licences Enterprise Architect can be obtained here: http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/solutions/academic.html
