Short Paper (Standard of Choice)

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Assignment Overview & Instructions

Health information standards are paving the road to a better future for healthcare quality, cost, and equality.  However, standards have been around for far longer than the modern healthcare system.  In this assignment, participants will choose a standard of information exchange and discuss some key points with regards to what has been learned so far.

This assignment is worth 10% of the course grade (100 points). 

Step 1: Choose a Standard

Choose a data or information standard (terminologies are also acceptable), preferably one that you personally understand.  It doesnt have to be health-related and it doesnt even have to be a digital format What matters is that you like using the format yourself, whether for work or for fun!

If you need some ideas, below are some standards that have been written about in previous years.  These are only suggestions, and you can pick an item thats not on this list.

MPEG Layer 3 Audio (MP3)

IATA Airport Codes

National Library of Congress System

Nutrition Facts Labeling (US, EU, or country/area of your choice)

Periodic Table of Elements

IUPAC Chemical Nomenclature

Binomial Nomenclature (Biology)

Gene Nomenclature (HGNC)

Dewey Decimal System

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)-related terminology

Step 2: Do the Research & Answer the Questions

Use at least 3 external valid resources that you find on your own (via Google, University Library, etc.) to explain the following (you can also use class readings on top of these if relevant):

  • Introduction: Define the standard and its source. Overall, why does this standard exist?
  • How did this standard come about? (Write up a brief history of it)
  • What are things that describe how this standard functions? Not all of these are applicable to all standards.
    • If the standard is delivered as a digital file (e.g. MP3), aspects of the file format
    • Data elements; tags; markup
    • Hardware aspects
    • Semantic aspects of information
  • How does this standard help out in different levels of interoperability? (Not all of the below will apply Most standards lean towards the bottom or the top)
    • Compatibility
    • Syntactic
    • Semantic
    • Cross-Domain
  • What aspects of society has this standard changed (worsened or improved), and how?

All assertions need to be cited Keep track of your sources at all times.  A minimum of three (3) properly-written external citations the textbook doesnt count – are required.

Grading

Grading is out of 100 points (10% of course grade), and is weighted as follows (Score for meeting basic requirements-Highest possible score):

  • Body sections (81-90 points)
    • Introduction (9-10)
    • History (9-10)
    • How the standard functions (18-20)
    • Levels of interoperability (27-30)
    • Aspects of society changed (9-10)
    • Concluding remarks (tie it all up) (9-10)
    • Note: If grammar and syntax are at least comprehensible, the maximum score is the score for meeting basic requirements. Superior grammar, syntax, and content can earn scores up to the highest possible score.
  • Citations (10 points) 
    • 3+ Inline APA citations done correctly (5)
    • 3+ End APA citations done correctly (5)
  • Penalty (up to -3 points): Body length over 1000 words (excludes citations)
  • Overall: (91-100) points