Lab Matters Winter 2017 | Page 23

newborn screening and genetics
NewSTEPs and HL7
In 2016 , NewSTEPs facilitated a revised draft of an HL7 dried blood spot implementation guide for NBS laboratory results . A task force consisting of HL7 and newborn screening informatics experts collaborated with the goal of developing a practical yet flexible guide to meet the needs of the newborn screening systems nationwide . Task force participants represented APHL , the National Library of Medicine , the Colorado School of Public Health , information system vendors from Natus and OZ Systems and newborn screening program experts from Iowa , Michigan , Minnesota , Texas , Virginia and Washington .
The task force built upon the foundation of a comprehensive NBS results guide developed under the leadership of the Public Health Informatics Institute ( PHII ) in 2011 . Team members worked to review barriers encountered by programs when implementing the PHII guide and aligned the guide with the larger scale Laboratory Results Interface ( LRI ) message specification1 . The task force submitted the Newborn Dried Blood Spot ( NDBS ) guide for official HL7 balloting as a component to the LRI Implementation Guide in December 2016 , with the updated release expected in early 2017 . In 2017 , the task force will begin developing a Newborn Dried Blood Spot ( NDBS ) component for LRI ’ s counterpart , the Laboratory Order Interface ( LOI ) 2 , for HL7 balloting in the May 2017 cycle .
To supplement the development of these technical documents , NewSTEPs 360 has initiated a concurrent project to complete a diverse and comprehensive NBS HIT Implementation Resource Guide and Toolkit . Scheduled for completion in late 2018 , the guide and toolkit will provide NBS systems with a roadmap for the complex process of HIT implementation and include best practices , lessons learned and process maps for incorporation of various forms of HIT .
These revised guides have the potential to simplify and expedite interface implementation for all NBS systems , improve interoperability between programs , support consistent reporting across laboratories and providers and promote wider scale standardized incorporation into Electronic Health Record system ( EHR-s ), Laboratory Information System ( LIS ), and Laboratory Information Management System ( LIMS ) products . These initiatives could assist NBS systems in reducing healthcare costs , and , most importantly , improve patient outcomes . Once publically available , the implementation guides will be accessible at HL7 . org , and all documents will be linked at www . NewSTEPs . org .
References 1 . HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide : S & I Framework Lab Results Interface , Release 1- US Realm 2 . HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide : S & I Framework Laboratory Orders from EHR , Release 1 - US Realm

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