1.1 This guide identifies the minimum information capabilities needed by an ambulatory care system or a resident facility R-ADT system. This guide is intended to depict the processes of: patient registration, inpatient admission into health care institutions and the use of registration data in establishing and using the demographic segments of the electronic health record. It also identifies a common core of informational elements needed in this R-ADT process and outlines those organizational elements that may use these segments. Furthermore, this guide identifies the minimum general requirements for R-ADT and helps identify many of the additional specific requirements for such systems. The data elements described may not all be needed but, if used, they must be used in the way specified so that each record segment has comparable data. This guide will help answer questions faced by designers of R-ADT capabilities by providing a clear description of the consensus of health care professionals regarding a uniform set of minimum data elements used by R-ADT functions in each component of the larger system. It will also help educate health care professionals in the general principles of patient care information management as well as the details of the constituent specialty areas.

1.2 This standard does not purport to address 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.