LinkEHR-Ed: A multi-reference model archetype editor based on formal semantics

Purpose

To develop a powerful archetype editing framework capable of handling multiple reference models and oriented towards the semantic description and standardization of legacy data.

Methods

The main prerequisite for implementing tools providing enhanced support for archetypes is the clear specification of archetype semantics. We propose a formalization of the definition section of archetypes based on types over tree-structured data. It covers the specialization of archetypes, the relationship between reference models and archetypes and conformance of data instances to archetypes.

Results

LinkEHR-Ed, a visual archetype editor based on the former formalization with advanced processing capabilities that supports multiple reference models, the editing and semantic validation of archetypes, the specification of mappings to data sources, and the automatic generation of data transformation scripts, is developed.

Conclusions

LinkEHR-Ed is a useful tool for building, processing and validating archetypes based on any reference model.