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Health Informatics Glossary
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S/MIME -
Secure Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions, defined by
RFC 5751.
See
MIME,
RFC
S&I -
The Standards and Interoperability
Framework is a broad informatics initiative led by ONC to harness community
collaboration to rapidly solve major health data informatics challenges.
See
Informatics,
ModSpec,
ONC
SaaS -
Software as a Service.
See
Cloud Computing,
Grid
SAML -
Security Assertion Markup Language.
SASL -
Simple Authentication and Security Layer,
RFC 4422. Application
protocols that support SASL typically also support TLS.
See
RFC,
TLS
SBCCDE -
Santa Barbara County Care Data Exchange, one of the conceptual pioneers for
HIE services, funded by CHCF, launched in 1998, closed in 2006. In 2007
staff from Redwood MedNet helped lead a project to develop a prototype
open
source master person index software package for CHCF from the legacy
software that was custom developed by the SBCCDE project. In 2008 CHCF
donated
the open source MPI software to Open Health Tools (OHT).
See
CHCF,
HIE,
MPI,
OHT,
OpenEMPI
Schema -
In computer science a schema may be a data
model or diagram that represents the tables, fields, indexes, etc. and their
relationships. Another type of schema is the definition of the structure,
content and semantics of an XML document.
See
Database,
Model,
XML
Top of Page
SDE -
State Designated Entity.
See
ARRA,
Cal eConnect,
CHeQ,
HITECH
SDK -
Software Development Kit.
SDO -
Standards Development Organization.
See
ANSI,
ASTM,
DSTU,
HL7,
IEEE,
ISO,
OASIS,
OMG,
W3C
Semantics -
In computer science semantics describes the processes a computer follows when
executing a program in a specific programming language. Semantics describe the
relationship between the input and output of a program, or explain how the
program will execute on a certain platform, hence creating a model of computation.
See
Model,
Ontology,
Semantic Web,
Taxonomy,
Terminology
Semantic Web -
A common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application,
enterprise, and community boundaries. The Semantic Web, based on RDF, is a
collaborative effort led by W3C.
See
Metadata,
RDF,
Semantics,
W3C
Sensitivity -
Optimizing for the maximum percent of data elements correctly identified as
matching a given attribute (i.e., true positives) out of all possible correct
matches of any two data elements. Sensitivity seeks to minimize the occurrence
of false negatives.
See
Disambiguate,
False Negative,
PPV,
Specificity
Sentinel Network -
A syndromic surveillance service begun by the CDC in 1994. No longer active.
See
Biosurveillance,
CDC,
DPEI
Server -
Either a software application that performs a specific task (such as EHR,
email, website hosting, etc.) or the physical hardware on which a server
software application runs, or both.
See
ASP,
Client-Server,
PC
Top of Page
SFTP -
Commonly called the "Secure File Transfer Protocol" but technically defined
as the "SSH File Transfer Protocol" which indicates use of FTP over a
cryptographically protected Secure Shell (SSH) connection.
See
FTP,
SSH
SGML -
Standard Generalized Markup Language.
SHA -
Secure Hash Algorithm.
Shall -
An imperative defined by RFC 2119.
See
Imperative,
Must,
RFC
SHARP -
The Strategic Health IT Advanced Research
Projects were four innovative research projects funded by ONC under the
HITECH act. The SHARP projects each address a well-documented problem that
impedes the adoption and usability of health IT. The SHARP investigations were
launched in 2009 and completed in 2014.
See
HITECH,
ONC,
SHARP-C,
SHARPn,
SHARPS,
SMART
SHARP-C -
SHARP research investigation into patient-centered cognitive support led by the
National Center for Cognitive Informatics
& Decision Making in Healthcare at University of Texas, Houston. A summary
of SHARP-C will be presented by Dean Sittig at the
2014 Redwood MedNet
Conference. See
ONC,
SHARP
SHARPn -
SHARP research investigation into secondary use of EHR information led by
Mayo Clinic.
A summary of SHARPn was presented by Christopher Chute at the
2013 Redwood MedNet
Conference. See
ONC,
SHARP
SHARPS -
SHARP research investigation into security and health information technology
led by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
A summary of a portion of the SHARPS investigation was presented by Mark Frisse
at the 2013 Redwood MedNet
Conference. See
ONC,
SHARP
SHIN-NY -
[ "shine - ee" ]
Statewide
Health Information Network for New York.
See
HEAL-NY,
NYeC
Should -
An imperative defined by RFC
2119. See
Imperative,
May,
RFC
Signal -
In electronics, a signal is a time-varying or spatial-varying system that
facilitates the transmission, storage and manipulation of information.
See
Analog,
Channel,
Message,
Noise,
Symbol,
Syndrome
Simple Interop -
A term which arose in a series of blog
posts by David McCallie and Wes Rishel. Simple Interop refers to the
opportunity for pervasive adoption of incrementally useful health data
interoperability tools.
See
FHIR,
NHIN Direct
Top of Page
SLA -
Service Level Agreement.
SMART -
SHARP research investigation into health care application and network design
led by the informatics program at
Boston Children's Hospital.
"SMART" is an acronym for Substitutable
Medical Applications & Reusable Technology. A summary of the SMART
investigation was presented by Joshua Mandel at the
2012 Redwood MedNet
Conference.
See
ONC,
SHARP
SME -
Subject Matter Expert.
See
Expert System
SMS -
Short Message Service, a communication component of the GSM mobile
communication system.
See
GSM,
TXT
SMTP -
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is an Internet standard for email transmission
across Internet Protocol (IP) networks. For outgoing mail transport SMTP
typically uses TCP port 25. SMTP is specified in
RFC 2821.
See
Email,
Internet,
IETF,
RFC,
TCP/IP
SMS -
Short Message Service, originated in 1985 as a text messaging standard under
GSM for use between GSM handsets. Support for SMS has expanded to include CDMA
and other communication networks.
See
CDMA,
GSM,
TXT
SNF -
("sniff") Skilled Nursing Facility.
See
Long Term Care
SNMP -
Simple Network Management Protocol, specified in
RFC 3411.
See
RFC
SNOMED -
The Systemized NOmenclature of MEDicine
was initiated in 1973 by the College of American
Pathologists (CAP). In 2007 IHTSDO acquired the intellectual property of
SNOMED CT and all antecedent SNOMED versions. See
CAP,
IHTSDO
SNTP -
Simple Network Time Protocol, specified in
RFC 2030.
See
RFC
Top of Page
SOA -
In software engineering, a Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) leverages
distributed and modular program components which communicate via a simple
and lightweight communication "service" (hence the name). SOA solutions can
be rapidly assembled from ad-hoc components, provide systems engineers with
agile options in variable or evolving environments (such as health care),
and yet SOA solutions also can be robust and scalable. SOA solutions are in
contrast to monolithic or enterprise solutions, which may lack flexibility
or adaptability.
See
ESB,
Grid,
SOAP,
WSDL,
XML
SOAP -
[1] The structured clinical note format which organizes
content in Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Planning (SOAP) categories,
first
proposed in 1968 by
Lawrence
Weed, MD, as a feature of the Problem-Oriented Medical Record (POMR).
[2] Simple Object
Access Protocol, a distributed message processing solution used extensively
to transport data between different and incompatible computer systems.
See
POMR,
REST,
UDDI
Software -
Informal term for a computer program.
See
Application,
Source Code
Sonogram -
Sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used to visualize
subcutaneous body structures.
See
Echocardiogram,
Ultrasound
SOP -
Standard Operating Procedure.
Top of Page
Source Code -
In computing, source code is a collection of computer instructions written
in a human-readable computer programming language. Source code facilitates the
work of computer programming. Typically source code is transformed by a program
known as a compiler into executable machine code understood by the computer.
Alternatively, interpreters exist that allow a computer to run directly from
source code. Most computer applications (programs) are distributed as
condensed executable files without the source code. If the source code were
included, it would enable a user, programmer, or system administrator to modify
the software program as needed. For example,
Mirth Connect,
the enterprise software program used by Redwood MedNet, is written in the Java
programming language. See
Compiler,
Executable,
FOSS,
Java,
Language,
Open Source,
Program,
Software
SOW -
Scope of work. See
WBS
Specificity -
Optimizing for the maximum percent of data elements correctly identified as
not-matching a given attribute (i.e., true negatives) out of all possible
incorrect data element matches. Specificity seeks to minimize the occurrence
of false positives.
See
Disambiguate,
False Positive,
Recall,
Sensitivity
Spider -
Short for "Web Spider" and synonymous with web crawler.
See
Bot,
Web Crawler
Spoke -
Term used by some vendors (e.g., eCW, e-MDs) to describe a software feature
that allows a data payload to be exported from or imported into a clinical
software application.
See
Channel,
EHR
Spyware -
Malicious software designed to covertly spy on a user.
See
Malware
SQL -
Structured Query Language.
See
CRUD,
DBMS,
NoSQL
SSH -
Abbreviation for Secure SHell, a cryptographically secured network protocol,
defined by RFC 4250.
See
RFC
Top of Page
SSL -
Secure Sockets Layer was an encryption protocol which provided secure
communication on the Internet. SSL was invented by Netscape for safely
conducting electronic commerce and other private asset management transactions
from an Internet browser. SSL was superceded in 2008 by TLS.
See
HTTPS,
SSH,
TLS
SSN -
Social Security Number.
SSO -
Single Sign On.
Standard -
A common English noun and adjective with discrete meanings in a wide variety
of technical, cultural, and commercial settings. For example, an Internet
Standard is a specification approved by the IETF. See
DSTU,
FHIR,
IETF,
ISO,
SDO
State Designated Entity -
See
SDE
Stateless Protocol -
A stateless server observes a protocol that treats each request as an
independent transaction that is unrelated to any previous request.
See
HTTP,
Protocol
Superconcept -
A parent concept. See
Ancestor,
Concept,
Descendant,
Hierarchy
Supply Chain -
Provisioning of a supply chain encompasses planning and management of all
tasks involved in sourcing, procurement, logistics, and transport of raw
materials, sub-assemblies, and finished goods. Tasks include coordination and
collaboration among participants, which can include suppliers, intermediaries,
third-party value added service providers, and customers. Supply chain
management is an integrating function with a primary goal of linking operational
functions and processes within and across organizations into a cohesive and
high-performing service. Redwood MedNet approaches clinical data interoperability
as a just in time supply chain provisioning use case and not as a longitudinal
clinical data repository (CDR) use case. All commercial HIE software is built for
a CDR use case.
See
CDR,
Clinical Messaging,
CRM,
Data Repository,
EDI,
ERP,
HIE,
MRP,
MRP-II
Swimlanes -
A type of business process flow diagram in which activities are grouped into
horizontal or vertical "swimlanes" by role or actor. For example, a swimlane
diagram of a patient visit might separate individual tasks in the diagram into
roles for Front Desk, Billing, Medical Assistant, Nurse, Provider, etc.
See
Business Process,
Workflow
Symbol -
An object, picture, sound, or mark that represents something else by
association. For example, a personal name is a symbol representing an
individual. In formal logic, "symbol" refers to an idea, and a "mark"
is a token instance of the symbol.
See
Algorithm,
Concept,
Model,
Signal
Top of Page
Synchronization -
A noun describing the task of indexing two or more separate data tables so that
they both contain the same records. For example, synchronizing an immunization
registry with an HIE that covers the same geographic territory.
See
Disambiguate
Syndrome -
Generally, a combination of phenomena observed in association. In medicine a
syndrome is the formal association of clinically recognizable characteristics,
features, phenomena, signs or symptoms that often occur together, so that the
presence of one or more features alerts the clinician to the possible presence
of the others. See
Biosurveillance,
Signal
Syntax -
In computer science, the syntax of a programming language is the set of rules
that define the combinations of symbols that are considered to be correctly
structured programs in that language.
Syslog -
The syslog protocol, defined in RFC
5424, is used to convey event notification messages. This protocol utilizes
a layered architecture, which allows the use of any number of transport protocols
for transmission of system logging (syslog) messages. It also provides a
message format that allows vendor-specific extensions to be provided in a
structured way.
See
RFC
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