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Biomedical Informatics

About Standards

What are standards?

   A standard is "a recognized unit of comparison by which the correctness of others can be determined." Another definition is "a set of characteristics or qualities that describes features of a product, process, or service." (ANSI Course "Why Standards Matter")

Who produces them?

  Scientific and  Professional Organizations such as the ASTM, ASME, IEEE, trade organizations, and governments create and produce standards. Standards are produced nationally and internationally. In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) coordinates many standards producing organizations. ANSI is also the sole US representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

   Health Level 7 (HL7) is an ANSI accredited standards development organization that produces documentation that describes how clinical information will be exchanged between disparate healthcare applications. 

   IEEEXplore contains the full text of IEEE standards including many related to health informatics.

How do I identify which ones I need?

There are many search tools on the internet to assist you in locating standards in your area of study. Some of these are listed on the page "Finding Standards".

How do I find the full text?

Steps to locate the full text are on the page "Standards Available in Noble Library".

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.