title: Nine Principles of Semantic Harmonization.
abstract: Medical data is routinely collected, stored and recorded across different institutions and in a range of different formats. Semantic harmonization is the process of collating this data into a singular consistent logical view, with many approaches to harmonizing both possible and valid. The broad scope of possibilities for undertaking semantic harmonization do lead however to the development of bespoke and ad-hoc systems; this is particularly the case when it comes to cohort data, the format of which is often specific to a cohort's area of focus. Guided by work we have undertaken in developing the 'EMIF Knowledge Object Library', a semantic harmonization framework underpinning the collation of pan-European Alzheimer's cohort data, we have developed a set of nine generic guiding principles for developing semantic harmonization frameworks, the application of which will establish a solid base for constructing similar frameworks.
authors.affiliation: Health e-Research Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Janssen Pharmaceutica, Beerse, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Speybroeck
authors.affiliation: The European Institute for Health Records (EuroRec), Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dipak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kalra
authors.affiliation: Janssen Pharmaceutica, Beerse, Belgium.
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verbeeck
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D066264:Datasets as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D012660:Semantics; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled