Standardized representation of vital signs for continuous care in cardiology

In the past micro processors and computers integrated in medical devices or medical device systems have been mainly used to support their functionality (device control, signal analysis etc.). At present the dominant user requirement is information integration. This requires interconnectivity and interoperability. A first step towards interoperability has been done by development of a standard for vital signs information representation. The content of this standard and, in particular, the "construction" of a data dictionary for this standard are described. The data dictionary contains terms (systematic names) and code numbers for all information elements to be communicated and to be processed for patient monitoring and multi-parameter data acquisition in physiological laboratories.