Definitions
Dennis Ballance
The term "Standards" is used in two very distinct ways.
First, it is a minimum acceptable level of performance. As such, one is at or above "standard" or one is "sub-standard". Safety standards and educational standards fit this model. Incorporated into the definition is a sense of reward or, more often, punitive action based on the ability of an individual or organization to achieve a given standard.
Second, it is a common platform or process that enables workflows to span boundaries between entities. Hence, "standard" terminologies provide a unified vocabulary, and "communication standards" allow interoperability of disparate systems. These aren't the types of standards that you "pass" or "fail", they are standards you "use" or "don't use".
A lot of people get these two concepts confused, or intermingled, and it leads to hard feelings, miscommunication, and incorrect expectations. For example, being "standards compliant" includes the assumption that you either "pass" or "fail" to be compliant, when in reality, "compliance" means you can interoperate in some fashion. "Compliance" does not have any expectation of how much of the standard has been implemented, and this isn't an oversight nor is it a loophole -- it is a consequence of using the second definition and not the first. Of course, it is possible to have a "standard" [1] that includes implementing/using a "standard" [2].
It's really important to understand this distinction, because trying to apply the first definition to the process of building the second will lead to competitive behavior and actually get in the way of accomplishing what we all really want, which is to improve the quality of medicine.
--Dennis
Dennis Ballance, DVM
dennis....@vcaantech.com
Director of Health Technology Integration
VCA Antech
O/C: 408 492-8503