This blog explores health informatics—a collaborative activity connecting people, process, and technologies to produce trusted data for better decision-making.
By Rayna Scott, RHIA, CPHI, CHDA, CVS
It seems like only yesterday that providers and hospitals were adopting electronic health records (EHRs) in order to meet meaningful use criteria.
Some organizations are adopting open-source architectures that provide much larger storage and computing capabilities without the need to totally change their existing infrastructures. These newer options have their own data query languages that are a departure from those that health informaticists may be used to, like SQL. Even the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has commissioned a new query language to retrieve quality measure data, called CQL (Clinical Quality Language).
This raises the distinct possibility that health information management (HIM) professionals would need to be “multi-lingual,” using two or more data query languages in their roles. Is this feasible? Is it necessary?
Yes, it is. We already work with different clinical technologies, and we support the creation of standardized formats for creating, storing, and updating information. The more proficient we are in using programing and query languages, the nimbler we become when meeting the requirements of our organizations.
What are your thoughts about the future of databases and data analytics, using newer technical languages? Please share in the comments below.
Rayna Scott is a coder with the CSI Companies.