Among the benefits of HL7, as said in HL7 website, we can find that:
- Is platform and technology independent standard
- Provides information exchange between computer applications developed by different vendors
- Reduces the labour and time involved in negotiating application-to-application (or point-to-point) interfaces
- Reduces short-term costs and project delivery time in:
- Analysis
- Development
- Implementation
- Reduces long-term costs in:
- Support and Maintenance
- System integration and communication
The biggest issue HL7 has to face in words of HL7 website is that “HL7 standard requires adaptation at each site where it is used. One of the major challenges in this area is aligning vocabularies and data models. The way information is described and formatted within applications – even those designed to use HL7 from day one – can present a challenge to their successful interoperability. This is especially true in those areas within the standard where multiple acceptable methods of implementing the same event trigger or other component are in use”.
The solution to the issues will come with the introduction of HL7 Version 3, which implements a new Reference Information Model (RIM) that will be the basis for the information exchange under the new standard.
Also a document mark-up standard called Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) is being developed.
http://hiwiki.idi.ntnu.no/index.php/Exercise_1_Stakeholders_Carlos#Pros_and_Cons._of_HL7
Dan Bârsan 