Development of an information model for storing organ donor data within an electronic medical record.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a model to store information in an electronic medical record (EMR) for the management of transplant patients. The model for storing donor information must be designed to allow clinicians to access donor information from the transplant recipient's record and to allow donor data to be stored without needlessly proliferating new Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC) codes for already-coded laboratory tests.


METHODS
Information required to manage transplant patients requires the use of a donor's medical information while caring for the transplant patient. Three strategies were considered: (1) link the transplant patient's EMR to the donor's EMR; (2) use pre-coordinated observation identifiers (i.e., LOINC codes with *(wedge)DONOR specified in the system axes) to identify donor data stored in the transplant patient's EMR; and (3) use an information model that allows donor information to be stored in the transplant patient's record by allowing the "source" of the data (donor) and the "name" of the result (e.g., blood type) to be post-coordinated in the transplant patient's EMR.


RESULTS
We selected the third strategy and implemented a flexible post-coordinated information model. There was no need to create new LOINC codes for already-coded laboratory tests. The model required that the data structure in the EMR allow for the storage of the "subject" of the test.


CONCLUSIONS
The selected strategy met our design requirements and provided an extendable information model to store donor data. This model can be used whenever it is necessary to refer to one patient's data from another patient's EMR.
Staes
Catherine J
CJ
Department of Medical Informatics, Intermountain Health Care, 4646 Lake Park Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 84120, USA. Catherine.Staes@ihc.com
Huff
Stanley M
SM
Evans
R Scott
RS
Narus
Scott P
SP
Tilley
Cyndalynn
C
Sorensen
John B
JB
D019992:Databases as Topic; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management; D039703:Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*