Re: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)

Writing a paper, myself.

Jim

On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 10:50 PM, Mead, Charlie (NIH/NCI) [C] <
meadch@mail.nih.gov> wrote:

> On a separate topic, what conclusions should we draw about people who are
> doing email at 11pm on a Saturday evening, myself included of course....:-)
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* Jim McCusker [mailto:james.mccusker@yale.edu]
> *Sent:* Sunday, September 18, 2011 04:48
> *To:* Mead, Charlie (NIH/NCI) [C]
> *Cc:* Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E]; conor dowling; public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org
>
> *Subject:* Re: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)****
>
> ** **
>
>
> http://forge.morfeo-project.org/wiki_en/index.php/Units_of_measurement_ontology#MUO_Basic_Instances:_UCUM
> ****
>
> On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 10:44 PM, Mead, Charlie (NIH/NCI) [C] <
> meadch@mail.nih.gov> wrote:****
>
> How does the SW notion of units-of-measure align with things like 21090 and
> UCUM?****
>
>  ****
>
> I need to traverse the links in Dave’s and Jim’s emails so this question
> <<might>> be a moot point.****
>
>  ****
>
> charlie****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E]
> *Sent:* Sunday, September 18, 2011 03:51
> *To:* Jim McCusker****
>
>
> *Cc:* conor dowling; public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org****
>
> *Subject:* RE: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)****
>
>  ****
>
> Jim, I was thinking more about units of content as in a container storing
> properties from different classes, for a clinical purpose.  The classic
> example here is when an EHR needs to store or report a blood pressure
> measurement, what are the various data elements that need to be reported to
> provide enough context to interpret the reading.****
>
>  ****
>
> To get an idea, take a look at the Intermountain CEM explorer:****
>
>  ****
>
> http://intermountainhealthcare.org/cem****
>
>  ****
>
> Do a model search for "blood pressure", look at BloodPressurePanel.  You'll
> see it's a container storing the systolic, diastolic, MAP measurements, and
> some info on the method/device, body location, body position, patient
> precondition etc.****
>
>  ****
>
> Same with the OpenEHR knowledge manager:****
>
>  ****
>
> http://www.openehr.org/knowledge/****
>
>  ****
>
> Double-click on:  Entry > Observation > Blood Pressure****
>
>  ****
>
> Mark mentioned using SADI - I think maybe you could define a kind of
> meta-ontology representing input and output classes in SADI, that would
> represent these containers or archetypes.  Then you would define REST
> interfaces based on that meta-ontology.  I think this approach can be
> explored.****
>
>  ****
>
> I need to read up more on the RESTful linked data interface mentioned by
> Guoqian.  I guess when I think of a REST mechanism for RDF, the challenge
> would be, RDF is a graph, whereas the URI resource path mechanism in REST is
> a tree, and it could be hard to unfold a graph into a tree...****
>
>  ****
>
> Mike, yes the section document (or the record itself) is where I envision
> the RDF would go.  The hData proposal is appealing in that it's simple, and
> separates the transport and the content cleanly, so we have good separation
> of concern for the appropriate stakeholders (engineers vs. clinicians for
> example).****
>
>  ****
>
> I also saw Chimezie Ogbuji's draft on "SPARQL 1.1 Graph Store HTTP
> Protocol" which is also REST based.  Wonder if that would be applicable
> here?****
>
>  ****
>
> http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-http-rdf-update/****
>
>  ****
>
> - Dave ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* Jim McCusker [mailto:james.mccusker@yale.edu]
> *Sent:* Saturday, September 17, 2011 8:07 PM
> *To:* Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E]
> *Cc:* conor dowling; public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org
> *Subject:* Re: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)****
>
>  ****
>
> Units of measure have a number of good representations in OWL/RDF. My
> current favorite is the Measurement Units Ontology, because it allows for
> composition of units from more basic units, it is designed to be used as an
> annotation property on properties as well as other configurations.****
>
>  ****
>
> Jim****
>
> On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 2:32 PM, Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E] <
> haudt@mail.nih.gov> wrote:****
>
> Back to "forget the plumbing" and focus on the content, how would you
> define a unit of content for a particular purpose (e.g. a blood pressure
> reading) in OWL and/or RDF?  This would correspond to an archetype or
> Detailed Clinical Model (DCM), and would be a subset of the domain
> ontology(s).****
>
>  ****
>
> I also came across the hData effort which seems very promising:****
>
>  ****
>
> http://www.projecthdata.org****
>
>  ****
>
> They are proposing a REST mechanism for transport (with some basic HTTP
> based security as well), and a generic content format (hData Record Format)
> that's primarily XML based currently, but potentially could be adapted to
> carry RDF payload.  (The REST mechanism claims conformance to the OMG RLUS
> profile, with a semantic signifier linking the data to the information
> model.  IMHO this could potentially be adapted to use RDF instead, that's
> linked to concepts in an OWL model.)  Is there a REST mechanism to expose
> RDF data?****
>
>  ****
>
> - Dave****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* Jim McCusker [mailto:james.mccusker@yale.edu]
> *Sent:* Monday, August 22, 2011 9:40 AM
> *To:* conor dowling
> *Cc:* Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E]; public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org****
>
>
> *Subject:* Re: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)****
>
>  ****
>
> I was just crafting a mail about how our investment in XML technologies
> hasn't paid off when this came in. What he said. :-)****
>
> On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 9:33 AM, conor dowling <conor-dowling@caregraf.com>
> wrote:****
>
> >> The content matters, the format does not.****
>
>  ****
>
> should be front and center. Talk of XML that or JSON this, of RDF as XML in
> a chain is a distraction - it's just plumbing. There are many tool-chains
> and implementors are big boys - they can graze the buffet themselves. ****
>
>  ****
>
> Central to any patient model rework (I hope) would be the interplay of
> formal specifications for terminologies like SNOMED along with any patient
> data information model. What should go in the terminology concept (the
> "object" in RDF terms) - what is left in the model (the "predicate"). Right
> now, this interplay is woefully under specified and implementors throw just
> about any old concept into "appropriate" slots in RIM (I know this from
> doing meaningful use tests:
> http://www.caregraf.com/blog/being-allergic-to-allergies,
> http://www.caregraf.com/blog/there-once-was-a-strawberry-allergy ) BTW, if
> SNOMED is the terminology of choice (for most) then the dance of it and any
> RIM-2 should drive much of RIM-2's form.****
>
>  ****
>
> This is a chance to get away from a fixation on formats/plumbing/"the
> trucks for data" and focus on content and in that focus to consider every
> aspect of expression, not just the verbs (RIM) or the objects (SNOMED) but
> both.****
>
>  ****
>
> Back to "forget the plumbing": if you want to publish a patient's data as
> an RDF graph or relational tables or you want a "document" to send on a
> wire, if you want to query with a custom protocol or use SPARQL or SQL, you
> should be able to and not be seen as an outlier. Each can be reduced to
> equivalents in other formats for particular interoperability. The problem
> right now is that so much time is spent talking about these containers and
> working between them and too little time is given over to what they contain,
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> Conor****
>
>  ****
>
> On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 6:01 AM, Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E] <
> haudt@mail.nih.gov> wrote:****
>
> I see what you're saying and I agree.****
>
>  ****
>
> The appeal of XML (i.e. XML used with an XSD representing model syntactics,
> not XML used as a serialization as in RDF/XML) is due in part to:****
>
>  ****
>
> - XML schema validation API is available on virtually all platforms e.g.
> Java, Javascript, Google Web Toolkit, Android etc.****
>
> - XML schema validation is relatively lightweight computationally.  Pellet
> ICV and similar mechanisms are more complete in their validation with the
> model, but much more computationally expensive unless you restrict yourself
> to a small subset of OWL which then limits the expressiveness of the
> modeling language.****
>
> - XML provides a convenient bridge from models such as OWL to relational
> databases e.g. via JAXB or Castor to Java objects to Hibernate to any RDB.
> ****
>
> - Relational querying and XML manipulation skills are much more plentiful
> in the market than SPARQL skills currently.****
>
> - Some of the current HL7 artifacts are expressed in XSD format, such as
> their datatypes (ISO 21090 ; although there are alternative representations
> such as UML, and there is an abstract spec too from HL7).  If we operate
> with OWL and RDF exclusively, would need to convert these datatypes into
> OWL.****
>
>  ****
>
> Maybe it'd be worthwhile to get a few of us who are interested in this
> topic together, with some of the HL7 folks interested, and have a few calls
> to flush this out and maybe write something up?****
>
>  ****
>
> - Dave****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* Jim McCusker [mailto:james.mccusker@yale.edu]
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 21, 2011 6:12 PM
> *To:* Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E]
> *Cc:* public-semweb-lifesci@w3.org
> *Subject:* Re: FW: A Fresh Look Proposal (HL7)****
>
>  ****
>
> I feel I need to cut to the chase with this one: XML schema cannot validate
> semantic correctness.****
>
>  ****
>
> It can validate that XML conforms to a particular schema, but that is
> syntactic. The OWL validator is nothing like a schema validator, first it
> produces a closure of all statements that can be inferred from the asserted
> information. This means that if a secondary ontology is used to describe
> some data, and that ontology integrates with the ontology that you're
> attempting to validate against, you will get a valid result. An XML schema
> can only work with what's in front of it.****
>
>  ****
>
> Two, there are many different representations of information that go beyond
> XML, and it should be possible to validate that information without anything
> other than a mechanical, universal translation. For instance, there are a
> few mappings of RDF into JSON, including JSON-LD, which looks the most
> promising at the moment. Since RDF/XML and JSON-LD both parse to the same
> abstract graph, there is a mechanical transformation between them. When
> dealing with semantic validity, you want to check the graph that is parsed
> from the document, not the document itself.****
>
>  ****
>
> The content matters, the format does not. For instance, let me define a new
> RDF format called RDF/CSV:****
>
>  ****
>
> First column is the subject. First row is the predicate. All other cell
> values are objects. URIs that are relative are relative to the document, as
> in RDF/XML.****
>
>  ****
>
> I can write a parser for that in 1 hour and publish it. It's genuinely
> useful, and all you would have to do to read and write it is to use my
> parser or write one yourself. I can then use the parser, paired with Pellet
> ICV, and validate the information in the file without any additional work
> from anyone.****
>
>  ****
>
> Maybe we need a simplified XML representation for RDF that looks more like
> regular XML. But to make a schema for an OWL ontology is too much work for
> too little payoff.****
>
>  ****
>
> Jim****
>
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 5:45 PM, Hau, Dave (NIH/NCI) [E] <
> haudt@mail.nih.gov> wrote:****
>
> Hi all,****
>
>  ****
>
> As some of you may have read, HL7 is rethinking their v3 and doing some
> brainstorming on what would be a good replacement for a data exchange
> paradigm grounded in robust semantic modeling.****
>
>  ****
>
> On the following email exchange, I was wondering, if OWL is used for
> semantic modeling, are there good ways to accomplish the following:****
>
>  ****
>
> 1.  Generate a wire format schema (for a subset of the model, the subset
> they call a "resource"), e.g. XSD****
>
>  ****
>
> 2.  Validate XML instances for conformance to the semantic model.  (Here
> I'm reminded of Clark and Parsia's work on their Integrity Constraint
> Validator:  http://clarkparsia.com/pellet/icv )****
>
>  ****
>
> 3.  Map an XML instance conformant to an earlier version of the "resource"
> to the current version of the "resource" via the OWL semantic model****
>
>  ****
>
> I think it'd be great to get a semantic web perspective on this fresh look
> effort.****
>
>  ****
>
> Cheers,****
>
> Dave****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> Dave Hau****
>
> National Cancer Institute****
>
> Tel: 301-443-2545****
>
> Dave.Hau@nih.gov****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> *From:* owner-its@lists.hl7.org [mailto:owner-its@lists.hl7.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Lloyd McKenzie
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 21, 2011 12:07 PM
> *To:* Andrew McIntyre
> *Cc:* Grahame Grieve; Eliot Muir; Zel, M van der; HL7-MnM; RIMBAA; HL7 ITS
> *Subject:* Re: A Fresh Look Proposal****
>
>  ****
>
> Hi Andrew,****
>
>  ****
>
> Tacking stuff on the end simply doesn't work if you're planning to use XML
> Schema for validation.  (Putting new stuff in the middle or the beginning
> has the same effect - it's an unrecognized element.)  The only alternative
> is to say that all changes after "version 1" of the specification will be
> done using the extension mechanism.  That will create tremendous analysis
> paralysis as we try to get things "right" for that first version, and will
> result in increasing clunkiness in future versions.  Furthermore, the
> extension mechanism only works for the wire format.  For the RIM-based
> description, we still need proper modeling, and that can't work with "stick
> it on the end" no matter what.****
>
>  ****
>
> That said, I'm not advocating for the nightmare we currently have with v3
> right now.****
>
>  ****
>
> I think the problem has three parts - how to manage changes to the wire
> format, how to version resource definitions and how to manage changes to the
> semantic model.****
>
>  ****
>
> Wire format:****
>
> If we're using schema for validation, we really can't change anything
> without breaking validation.  Even making an existing non-repeating element
> repeat is going to cause schema validation issues.  That leaves us with two
> options (if we discount the previously discussed option of "get it right the
> first time and be locked there forever":****
>
> 1. Don't use schema****
>
> - Using Schematron or something else could easily allow validation of the
> elements that are present, but ignore all "unexpected" elements****
>
> - This would cause significant pain for implementers who like to use schema
> to help generate code though****
>
>  ****
>
> 2. Add some sort of a version indicator on new content that allows a
> pre-processor to remove all "new" content if processing using an "old"
> handler****
>
> - Unpleasant in that it involves a pre-processing step and adds extra
> "bulk" to the instances, but other than that, quite workable****
>
>  ****
>
> I think we're going to have to go with option #2.  It's not ideal, but is
> still relatively painless for implementers.  The biggest thing is that we
> can insist on "no breaking x-path changes".  We don't move stuff between
> levels in a resource wire format definition or rename elements in a resource
> wire format definition.  In the unlikely event we have to deprecate the
> entire resource and create a new version.****
>
>  ****
>
> Resource versioning:****
>
> At some point, HL7 is going to find at least one resource where we blew it
> with the original design and the only way to create a coherent wire format
> is to break compatibility with the old one.  This will then require
> definition of a new resource, with a new name that occupies the same
> semantic space as the original.  I.e. We'll end up introducing "overlap".
>  Because overlap will happen, we need to figure out how we're going to deal
> with it.  I actually think we may want to introduce overlap in some places
> from the beginning.  Otherwise we're going to force a wire format on
> implementers of simple community EMRs that can handle prescriptions for
> fully-encoded chemo-therapy protocols.  (They can ignore some of the data
> elements, but they'd still have to support the full complexity of the nested
> data structures.)****
>
>  ****
>
> I don't have a clear answer here, but I think we need to have a serious
> discussion about how we'll handle overlap in those cases where it's
> necessary, because at some point it'll be necessary.  If we don't figure out
> the approach before we start, we can't allow for it in the design.****
>
>  ****
>
> All that said, I agree with the approach of avoiding overlap as much as
> humanly possible.  For that reason, I don't advocate calling the Person
> resource "Person_v1" or something that telegraphs we're going to have new
> versions of each resource eventually (let alone frequent changes).
>  Introduction of a new version of a resource should only be done when the
> pain of doing so is outweighed by the pain of trying to fit new content in
> an old version, or requiring implementers of the simple to support the
> structural complexity of our most complex use-cases.****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> Semantic model versioning:****
>
> This is the space where "getting it right" the first time is the most
> challenging.  (I think we've done that with fewer than half of the normative
> specifications we've published so far.)  V3 modeling is hard.  The positive
> thing about the RFH approach is that very few people need to care.  We could
> totally refactor every single resource's RIM-based model (or even remove
> them entirely), and the bulk of implementers would go on merrily exchanging
> wire syntax instances.  However, that doesn't mean the RIM-based
> representations aren't important.  They're the foundation for the meaning of
> what's being shared.  And if you want to start sharing at a deeper level
> such as RIMBAA-based designs, they're critical.  This is the level where OWL
> would come in.  If you have one RIM-based model structure, and then need to
> refactor and move to a different RIM-based model structure, you're going to
> want to map the semantics between the two structures so that anyone who was
> using the old structure can manage instances that come in with the new
> structure (or vice versa).  OWL can do that.  And anyone who's got a complex
> enough implementation to parse the wire format and trace the elements
> through the their underlying RIM semantic model will likely be capable of
> managing the OWL mapping component as well.****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> In short, I think we're in agreement that separation of wire syntax and
> semantic model are needed.  That will make model refactoring much easier.
>  However we do have to address how we're going to handle wire-side and
> resource refactoring too.****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> Lloyd****
>
> --------------------------------------
> Lloyd McKenzie
>
> +1-780-993-9501
>
>
>
> Note: Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the opinions and positions
> expressed in this e-mail do not necessarily reflect those of my clients nor
> those of the organizations with whom I hold governance positions.****
>
> On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 7:53 AM, Andrew McIntyre <
> andrew@medical-objects.com.au> wrote:****
>
> Hello Lloyd,
>
> While "tacking stuff on the end" in V2 may not at first glance seem like an
> elegant solution I wonder if it isn't actually the best solution, and one
> that has stood the test of time. The parsing rules in V2 do make version
> updates quite robust wrt backward and forward inter-operability.
>
> I am sure it could be done with OWL but I doubt we can switch the world to
> using OWL in any reasonable time frame and we probably need a less abstract
> representation for commonly used things. In V2 OBX segments, used in a
> hierarchy can create an OWL like object-attribute structure for information
> that is not modeled by the standard itself.
>
> I do think the wire format and any overlying model should be distinct
> entities so that the model can be evolved and the wire format be changed in
> a backward compatible way, at least for close versions.
>
> I also think that the concept of templates/archetypes to extend the model
> should not invalidate the wire format, but be a metadata layer over the wire
> format. This is what we have done in Australia with an ISO 13606 Archetypes
> in V2 projects. I think we do need a mechanism for people to develop
> templates to describe hierarchical data and encode that in the wire format
> in a way that does not invalidate its vanilla semantics (ie non templated V2
> semantics) when the template mechanism is unknown or not implemented.
>
> In a way the V2 specification does hit at underlying objects/Interfaces,
> and there is a V2 model, but it is not prescriptive and there is no
> requirement for systems to use the same internal model as long as they use
> the bare bones V2 model in the same way. Obviously this does not always work
> as well as we would like, even in V2, but it does work well enough to use it
> for quite complex data when there are good implementation guides.
>
> If we could separate the wire format from the clinical models then the 2
> can evolve in their own way. We have done several trial implementations of
> Virtual Medical Record Models (vMR) which used V3 datatypes and RIM like
> classes and could build those models from V2 messages, or in some cases non
> standard Web Services, although for specific clinical classes did use ISO
> 13606 archetypes to structure the data in V2 messages.
>
> I think the dream of having direct model serializations as messages is
> flawed for all the reasons that have made V3 impossible to implement in the
> wider world. While the tack it on the end, lots of optionality rationale
> might seem clunky, maybe its the best solution to a difficult problem. If we
> define tight SOAP web services for everything we will end up with thousands
> of slightly different SOAP calls for every minor variation and I am not sure
> this is the path to enlightenment either.
>
> I am looking a Grahams proposal now, but I do wonder if the start again
> from scratch mentality is not part of the problem. Perhaps that is a lesson
> to be learned from the V3 process. Maybe the problem is 2 complex to solve
> from scratch and like nature we have to evolve and accept there is lots of
> junk DNA, but maintaining a working standard at all times is the only way to
> avoid extinction.
>
> I do like the idea of a cohesive model for use in decision support, and
> that's what the vMR/GELLO is about, but I doubt there will ever be a one
> size fits all model and any model will need to evolve. Disconnecting the
> model from the messaging, with all the pain that involves, might create a
> layered approach that might allow the HL7 organism to evolve gracefully. I
> do think part of the fresh look should be education on what V2 actually
> offers, and can offer, and I suspect many people in HL7 have never seriously
> looked at it in any depth.
>
> Andrew McIntyre****
>
>
>
> Saturday, August 20, 2011, 4:37:37 AM, you wrote:****
>
> Hi Grahame,
>
> Going to throw some things into the mix from our previous discussions
> because I don't see them addressed yet.  (Though I admit I haven't reread
> the whole thing, so if you've addressed and I haven't seen, just point me at
> the proper location.)
>
> One of the challenges that has bogged down much of the v3 work at the
> international level (and which causes a great deal of pain at the
> project/implementation level) is the issue of refactoring.  The pain at the
> UV level comes from the fact that we have a real/perceived obligation to
> meet all known and conceivable use-cases for a particular domain.  For
> example, the pharmacy domain model needs to meet the needs of clinics,
> hospitals, veterinarians, and chemotherapy protocols and must support the
> needs of the U.S., Soviet union and Botswana.  To make matters more
> interesting, participation from the USSR and Botswana is a tad light.
>  However the fear is that if all of these needs aren't taken into account,
> then when someone with those needs shows up at the door, the model will need
> to undergo substantive change, and that will break all of the existing
> systems.
>
> The result is a great deal of time spent gathering requirements and
> refactoring and re-refactoring the model as part of the design process,
> together with a tendency to make most, if not all data elements optional at
> the UV level.  A corollary is that the UV specs are totally unimplementable
> in an interoperable fashion.  The evil of optionality that manifested in v2
> that v3 was going to banish turned out to not be an issue of the standard,
> but rather of the issues with creating a generic specification that
> satisfies global needs and a variety of use-cases.
>
> The problem at the implementer/project level is that when you take the UV
> model and tightly constrain it to fit your exact requirements, you discover
> 6 months down the road that one or more of your constraints was wrong and
> you need to loosen it, or you have a new requirement that wasn't thought of,
> and this too requires refactoring and often results in wire-level
> incompatibilities.
>
> One of the things that needs to be addressed if we're really going to
> eliminate one of the major issues with v3 is a way to reduce the fear of
> refactoring.  Specifically, it should be possible to totally refactor the
> model and have implementations and designs work seemlessly across versions.
>
> I think putting OWL under the covers should allows for this.  If we can
> assert equivalencies between data elements in old and new models, or even
> just map the wire syntaxes of old versions to new versions of the definition
> models, then this issue would be significantly addressed:
> - Committees wouldn't have to worry about satisfying absolutely every
> use-case to get something useful out because they know they can make changes
> later without breaking everything.  (They wouldn't even necessarily have to
> meet all the use-cases of the people in the room! :>)
> - Realms and other implementers would be able to have an interoperability
> path that allowed old wire formats to interoperate with new wireformats
> through the aid of appropriate tooling that could leverage the OWL under the
> covers.  (I think creating such tooling is *really* important because
> version management is a significant issue with v3.  And with XML and
> schemas, the whole "ignore everything on the end you don't recognize" from
> v2 isn't a terribly reasonable way forward.
>
> I think it's important to figure out exactly how refactoring and version
> management will work in this new approach.  The currently proposed approach
> of "you can add stuff, but you can't change what's there" only scales so
> far.
>
>
> I think we *will* need to significantly increase the number of Resources
> (from 30 odd to a couple of hundred).  V3 supports things like invoices,
> clinical study design, outbreak tracking and a whole bunch of other
> healthcare-related topics that may not be primary-care centric but are still
> healthcare centric.  That doesn't mean all (or even most) systems will need
> to deal with them, but the systems that care will definitely need them.  The
> good news is that most of these more esoteric areas have responsible
> committees that can manage the definition of these resources, and as you
> mention, we can leverage the RMIMs and DMIMs we already have in defining
> these structures.
>
>
> The specification talks about robust capturing of requirements and
> traceability to them, but gives no insight into how this will occur.  It's
> something we've done a lousy job of with v3, but part of the reason for that
> is it's not exactly an easy thing to do.  The solution needs to flesh out
> exactly how this will happen.
>
>
> We need a mapping that explains exactly what's changed in the datatypes
> (and for stuff that's been removed, how to handle that use-case).
>
> There could still be a challenge around granularity of text.  As I
> understand it, you can have a text representation for an attribute, or for
> any XML element.  However, what happens if you have a text blob in your
> interface that covers 3 of 7 attributes inside a given XML element.  You
> can't use the text property of the element, because the text only covers 3
> of 7.  You can't use the text property of one of the attributes because it
> covers 3 separate attributes.  You could put the same text in each of the 3
> attributes, but that's somewhat redundant and is going to result in
> rendering issues.  One solution might be to allow the text specified at the
> element level to identify which of the attributes the text covers.  A
> rendering system could then use that text for those attributes, and then
> render the discrete values of the remaining specified attributes.  What this
> would mean is that an attribute might be marked as "text" but not have text
> content directly if the parent element had a text blob that covered that
> attribute.
>
>
>
> New (to Grahame) comments:
>
> I didn't see anything in the HTML section or the transaction section on how
> collisions are managed for updates.  A simple requirement (possibly
> optional) to include the version id of the resource being updated or deleted
> should work.
>
> To my knowledge, v3 (and possibly v2) has never supported true "deletes".
>  At best, we do an update and change the status to nullified.  Is that the
> intention of the "Delete" transaction, or do we really mean a true "Delete"?
>  Do we have any use-cases for true deletes?
>
> I wasn't totally clear on the context for uniqueness of ids.  Is it within
> a given resource or within a given base URL?  What is the mechanism for
> referencing resources from other base URLs?  (We're likely to have networks
> of systems that play together.)
>
> Nitpick: I think "id" might better be named "resourceId" to avoid any
> possible confusion with "identifier".  I recognize that from a coding
> perspective, shorter is better.  However, I think that's outweightd by the
> importance of avoiding confusion.
>
> In the resource definitions, you repeated definitions for resources
> inherited from parent resources.  E.g. Person.created inherited from
> Resource.Base.created.  Why?  That's a lot of extra maintenance and
> potential for inconsistency.  It also adds unnecessary volume.
>
> Suggest adding a caveat to the draft that the definitions are placeholders
> and will need significant work.  (Many are tautological and none meet the
> Vocab WG's guidelines for quality definitions.)
>
> Why is Person.identifier mandatory?
>
> You've copied "an element from Resource.Base.???" to all of the Person
> attributes, including those that don't come from Resource.Base.
>
> Obviously the workflow piece and the conformance rules that go along with
> it need some fleshing out.  (Looks like this may be as much fun in v4 as it
> has been in v3 :>)
>
> The list of identifier types makes me queasy.  It looks like we're
> reintroducing the mess that was in v2.  Why?  Trying to maintain an ontology
> of identifier types is a lost cause.  There will be a wide range of
> granularity requirements and at fine granularity, there will be 10s of
> thousands.  The starter list is pretty incoherent.  If you're going to have
> types at all, the vocabulary should be constrained to a set of codes based
> on the context in which the real-world identifier is present.  If there's no
> vocabulary defined for the property in that context, then you can use text
> for a label and that's it.
>
> I didn't see anything on conformance around datatypes.  Are we going to
> have datatype flavors?  How is conformance stated for datatype properties?
>
> I didn't see templateId or flavorId or any equivalent.  How do instances
> (or portions there-of) declare conformance to "additional" constraint
> specifications/conformance profiles than the base one for that particular
> server?
>
> We need to beef up the RIM mapping portion considerably.  Mapping to a
> single RIM class or attribute isn't sufficient.  Most of the time, we're
> going to need to map to a full context model that talks about the
> classCodes, moodCodes and relationships.  Also, you need to relate
> attributes to the context of the RIM location of your parent.
>
> There's no talk about context conduction, which from an implementation
> perspective is a good thing.  However, I think it's still needed behind the
> scenes.  Presumably this would be covered as part of the RIM semantics
> layer?
>
> In terms of the "validate" transaction, we do a pseudo-validate in
> pharmacy, but a 200 response isn't sufficient.  We can submit a draft
> prescription and say "is this ok?".  The response might be as simple as
> "yes" (i.e. a 200).  However, it could also be a "no" or "maybe" with a list
> of possible contraindications, dosage issues, allergy alerts and other
> detected issues.  How would such a use-case be met in this paradigm?
>
> At the risk of over-complicating things, it might be useful to think about
> data properties as being identifying or not to aid in exposing resources in
> a de-identified way.  (Not critical, just wanted to plant the seed in your
> head about if or how this might be done.)
>
>
> All questions and comments aside, I definitely in favour of fleshing out
> this approach and looking seriously at moving to it.  To that end, I think
> we need a few things:
> - A list of the open issues that need to be resolved in the new approach.
>  (You have "todo"s scattered throughout.  A consolidated list of the "big"
> things would be useful.)
> - An analysis of how we move from existing v3 to the new approach, both in
> terms of leveraging existing artifacts and providing a migration path for
> existing solutions as well as what tools, etc. we need.
> - A plan for how to engage the broader community for review.  (Should
> ideally do this earlier rather than later.)
>
> Thanks to you, Rene and others for all the work you've done.
>
>
> Lloyd
>
> --------------------------------------
> Lloyd McKenzie
>
> +1-780-993-9501
>
>
>
> Note: Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the opinions and positions
> expressed in this e-mail do not necessarily reflect those of my clients nor
> those of the organizations with whom I hold governance positions.
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 9:08 AM, Grahame Grieve <grahame@kestral.com.au***
> *
>
> > wrote:****
>
>
> hi All
>
> Responses to comments
>
> #Michael
>
> > 1. I would expect more functional interface to use these resources.
>
> as you noted in later, this is there, but I definitely needed to make
> more of it. That's where I ran out of steam
>
> > 2. One of the things that was mentioned (e.g. at the Orlando
> > WGM RIMBAA Fresh Look discussion) is that we want to use
> > industry standard tooling, right? Are there enough libraries that
> > implement REST?
>
> this doesn't need tooling. There's schemas if you want to bind to them
>
> > 2b. A lot of vendors now implement WebServices. I think we should
> > go for something vendors already have or will easilly adopt. Is that the
> case with REST?
>
> Speaking as a vendor/programmer/writer of an open source web services
> toolkit, I prefer REST. Way prefer REST
>
> > Keep up the good work!
>
> ta
>
> #Mark
>
> > I very much like the direction of this discussion towards web services
> > and in particular RESTful web services.
>
> yes, though note that REST is a place to start, not a place to finish.
>
> > At MITRE we have been advocating this approach for some time with our
> hData initiative.
>
> yes. you'll note my to do: how does this relate to hData, which is a
> higher level
> specification than the CRUD stuff here.
>
> #Eliot
>
> > Hats off - I think it's an excellent piece of work and definitely a step
> in right direction.
>
> thanks.
>
> > I didn't know other people in the HL7 world other than me were talking
> about
> > (highrise).  Who are they?
>
> not in Hl7. you were one. it came up in some other purely IT places that I
> play
>
> >  5) Build it up by hand with a wiki - it is more scalable really since
> you
>
> wiki's have their problems, though I'm not against them.
>
> > 1) I think it would be better not to use inheritance to define a patient
> as
> > a sub type of a person.  The trouble with that approach is that people
> can
>
> On the wire, a patient is not a sub type of person. The relationship
> between the two is defined in the definitions.
>
> > A simpler approach is associate additional data with a person if and when
> > they become a patient.
>
> in one way, this is exactly what RFH does. On the other hand, it creates a
> new identity for the notion of patient (for integrity). We can discuss
> whether that's good or bad.
>
> > 2) I'd avoid language that speaks down to 'implementers'.  It's
> enterprise
>
> really? Because I'm one. down the bottom of your enterprise pole. And
> I'm happy to be one of those stinking implementers down in the mud.
> I wrote it first for me. But obviously we wouldn't want to cause offense.
> I'm sure I haven't caused any of that this week ;-)
>
> > 3) If you want to reach a broader audience, then simplify the language.
>
> argh, and I thought I had. how can we not use the right terms? But I
> agree that the introduction is not yet direct enough - and that's after
> 4 rewrites to try and make it so....
>
> Grahame
>
>
> ************************************************
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>
>
>
>
> *--
> Best regards,
>  Andrew                             *mailto:andrew@Medical-Objects.com.au<andrew@Medical-Objects.com.au>
>
> *sent from a real computer*****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
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>
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> ****
>
>  ****
>
> --
> Jim McCusker
> Programmer Analyst
> Krauthammer Lab, Pathology Informatics
> Yale School of Medicine
> james.mccusker@yale.edu | (203) 785-6330
> http://krauthammerlab.med.yale.edu
>
> PhD Student
> Tetherless World Constellation
> Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
> mccusj@cs.rpi.edu
> http://tw.rpi.edu****
>
>  ****
>
>
>
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> --
> Jim McCusker
> Programmer Analyst
> Krauthammer Lab, Pathology Informatics
> Yale School of Medicine
> james.mccusker@yale.edu | (203) 785-6330
> http://krauthammerlab.med.yale.edu
>
> PhD Student
> Tetherless World Constellation
> Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
> mccusj@cs.rpi.edu
> http://tw.rpi.edu****
>
>
>
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> --
> Jim McCusker
> Programmer Analyst
> Krauthammer Lab, Pathology Informatics
> Yale School of Medicine
> james.mccusker@yale.edu | (203) 785-6330
> http://krauthammerlab.med.yale.edu
>
> PhD Student
> Tetherless World Constellation
> Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
> mccusj@cs.rpi.edu
> http://tw.rpi.edu****
>
>
>
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> --
> Jim McCusker
> Programmer Analyst
> Krauthammer Lab, Pathology Informatics
> Yale School of Medicine
> james.mccusker@yale.edu | (203) 785-6330
> http://krauthammerlab.med.yale.edu
>
> PhD Student
> Tetherless World Constellation
> Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
> mccusj@cs.rpi.edu
> http://tw.rpi.edu****
>



-- 
Jim McCusker
Programmer Analyst
Krauthammer Lab, Pathology Informatics
Yale School of Medicine
james.mccusker@yale.edu | (203) 785-6330
http://krauthammerlab.med.yale.edu

PhD Student
Tetherless World Constellation
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
mccusj@cs.rpi.edu
http://tw.rpi.edu