ASTM E2538-06

1.1 This practice applies to the process of defining and documenting the capabilities, logical data sources, and pathways of data exchange regarding pharmacotherapy information services within a given network architecture serving a set of healthcare constituents.

1.2 This practice is not a technical implementation standard but, rather, describes how the implementation methods and techniques can be used to coordinate pharmacotherapy services logically within an electronic health record (EHR) systems environment involving participating organizations and sites connected by a networked communication system.

1.3 This practice covers the content of the nodes and arcs of the resulting logical network involving EHR, pharmacy, and clinical laboratory-capable sites. This practice also considers the various purposes and organizational arrangements for coordinating pharmacotherapy services within the network boundaries and the considerations for connections among external networks.

1.4 This practice refers to other standards for conventions within various data domains, such as pharmacy systems, clinical laboratory information management systems (CLIMS), and EHR systems, and for messaging conventions.

1.5 This practice is intended to outline how integration of pharmacy, CLIMS, and EHR information systems can be undertaken to result in a transparent pharmacotherapy clinical decision support environment, regardless of the underlying implementation architecture, by describing the logical interoperability of information domains as facilitated by information and communications technology (ICT).

1.6 This practice is directed at pharmacists, clinical pharmacologists, clinical laboratorians, information system managers, and information systems vendors for use in planning and implementing coordinated pharmacotherapy services through effective dialog.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.