1.1 This terminology is intended to name and document the principal concepts, and their associated terms, that are utilized in the healthcare information domain and all of its specialized subdomains. It is applicable to all areas of healthcare about which information is kept or utilized. It is intended to complement and utilize those concepts already identified by other national and international standards bodies. It will identify alternate accepted terms for the same concept and its elected term. Its terms are intended to clarify and simplify usage in the dialog and documentation about the concepts, processes and data that are used to schedule, conduct and manage all phases of healthcare. This common usage will improve the quality and management of all facets of healthcare by means of explicit information used in referring to each of these facets. These health informatics terms have been collected here specifically in order to facilitate the consistent use of common concepts in informatics standards development and use throughout healthcare. A separate process from this standard that is described in ISO 15188 will manage the approval of biomedical and healthcare terms.

1.2 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.