Conformance Standards

The Conformance Standards for developing interfaces to the ministry's health information exchange services include business, application, training development and delivery, privacy and security rules, message specifications and transport protocols.

Organizations developing an interface for medical practices (electronic medical record systems) must meet the electronic medical record requirements.

B.C. Conformance Standards v2.0

Domain Overview Privacy Security Business Rules Application Enforced Rules
1 2 3A 3B 3D 3E 4A 4B 4D 4E
Client Registry (ZIP, 18.7MB) ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑    
Provider Registry (ZIP, 20.8MB) ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑   ☑   ☑  
Provincial Lab Information Solution (ZIP, 32.8MB) ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑     ☑

Conformance Standards Description

Vol 1 Overview (PDF, 822KB):  Provides an overview of health information exchange with ministry systems; outlines the content of the conformance volume set and explains the processes and requirements for organizations to access ministry HIE services.

Vol 2 Privacy and Security (PDF, 649KB):  Describes the information privacy and security rules that apply to all software solution providers.

Vol 3 Business Rules:  Volume 3A describes the general business and privacy and security rules that apply to all points of service accessing and exchanging health information. Each domain has its own volume of business rules (e.g. 3B Client Registry, 3E PLIS)  

Vol 4 Application Rules:  Describes the rules and controls required of applications interfacing to the ministry’s health information exchange services. Each domain has its own volume of application rules (e.g. 4B Client Registry, 4E PLIS)  

Vol 5 Transport Protocol:  Provides an overview of the technical mechanisms by which POS systems connect to ministry HIE services. Each protocol has its own set of standards and message specifications.

Glossary of Terms (PDF, 811KB): Defines each key term, acronym and abbreviation that is included in the British Columbia Professional and Software Conformance Standards for Electronic Health Information Exchange.

Note:  In addition, select the appropriate transport protocol (5A HIAL or 5B HNSecure). 

Notification Service

Subscribers to this service receive an e-mail notification when the B.C. Professional and Software Conformance Standards for Electronic Health Information Exchange ("B.C. Conformance Standards") are updated and posted on the website.

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Health Professional and Support Staff Material

User education and reference information provides ongoing support for health care professionals and their staff interacting with ministry health information exchange systems. This information provides background to the topics covered in user training for software applications connected to the ministry’s systems.