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Vocabulary

PHIN Vocabulary

PHIN Vocabulary Standards is a key component in supporting the development and deployment of standards-based public health information systems. PHIN Vocabulary Services seeks to promote the use of standards-based vocabulary within PHIN systems and foster the use and exchange of consistent information among public health partners. The use of PHIN Vocabulary Standards ensures that vocabularies are aligned with PHIN standards and with appropriate industry and Consolidated Health Informatics Initiative (CHI) vocabulary standards. These standards are supported by the PHIN Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (VADS) for accessing, searching, and distributing standards-based vocabularies used within PHIN to local, state and national PHIN partners. It promotes the use of standards-based vocabulary within PHIN systems to support the exchange of consistent information among Public Health Partners.

PHIN Vocabulary Services strives to enable the consistent and accurate representation of information by encouraging and supporting the use of Vocabulary Standards to promote semantic interoperability among public health systems. Working with Standard Development Organization (SDOs) terminology experts and other subject matter experts, PHIN Services actively participates in the development and identification of vocabularies important to the public health arena. SDOs include Systemactic Nomenclature for Medicine (SNOMED), Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), Health Level 7 (HL7), Consolidated Health Informatics Initiative (CHI), Health Information Technology Initiative (HITSP) and American Health Information Community (AHIC).

PHIN Vocabulary Access and Distribution System (PHIN VADS)

PHIN VADS is a web-based enterprise vocabulary system for accessing, searching, and distributing vocabularies used within the PHIN. To learn more and access the PHIN VADS system, visit the PHIN VADS web page

PHIN OID Registry

PHIN uses Object Identifiers (OIDs) as its unique identifiers for namespaces, enabling HL7-compliant messaging and precise data storage. The PHIN OID Registry enables the viewing, searching, and creation of OIDs used within PHIN.

Public Health Vocabulary Community of Practice (PHVCoP)

The Public Health Vocabulary Community of Practice facilitates dialogue and problem solving around vocabulary development, usage, and distribution within public health. Because of increasing requirements for standards adoption and interoperable systems, a CoP devoted to vocabulary standards adoption and vocabulary best practices promotion among CDC Programs and Partners is timely. PHVCoP members gather to share ideas, work collaboratively, and find solutions.

PHVCoP members come from state and local health departments, from federal agencies, and from anywhere people in public health work with vocabulary and interoperability standards. We are epidemiologists, informaticists, laboratorians,program managers, analysts, application developers, and others who work with vocabulary.

The PHVCoP meets monthly with presentations by our members and by guests. If you are in the Atlanta area, you are invited to attend in person, but many of our members attend via webinar. In addition, the PHVCoP maintains a web-based discussion forum and document archive. If you’d like to find out more, join us for a meeting, or be added to our community space, please contact us at PHVCoP@cdc.gov.