A framework for vocabulary controlled queries of distributed electronic healthcare records

Patient health information is usually stored using different conceptual representations and coding conventions in different health record systems and research databases. The linkage capacity of these data sources strongly determines the reuse of clinical care information within clinical research and vice versa. As part of efforts in addressing the issue of system interoperability within primary and secondary care, we are investigating the use of controlled vocabularies across both healthcare sectors. In this paper, we present research work being carried out in our institution, involving the development of a vocabulary service that allows users to access clinical terminology and vocabulary translations through both a web interface and web service Application Programmable Interface (API). Another area of work is the transformation of federated clinical data for enhanced query performance and analysis.