Health Level Seven (HL7) has approved the Continuity of Care Document (CCD) as the harmonization format for exchanging clinical information such as patient demographics, medications and allergies. The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) has also given its endorsement to the interoperability standard that has been developed jointly by HL7 and the ASTM International E31 Healthcare Informatics Committee, according to a release.
 
The CCD has been designed to promote interoperability of clinical data so that physicians are better able to send electronic medical information to other providers and to maintain the integrity of the information being passed along.
 
The approval marks a harmonization of ASTM’s Continuity of Care Record (CCR) and the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA), said Richard Peters, MD, chair, ASTM International Committee E31 on Healthcare Informatics. The CCD, which resulted “from the representation and mapping of CCR data within the CDA, will help drive the use of structured XML standards for clinical information exchange and the improvement of patient safety, quality, and efficiency,” he added.
 
According to HL7, CCD does not disrupt the existing data flows in payer, provider, or pharmacy organizations.