Emergency Informatics Association Charter

Table of Contents

• Vision
• Mission Statement
• Scope
  • Success Criteria
• Duration
• Deliverables
• Relationship to other groups and Individuals
• Membership
• Openness Policies
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Communication Mechanisms
  • Face to face meetings
  • Mailing Lists
  • Phone
  • Association Web Page
• Voting Mechanisms
• Participation
  • By Association Members
  • By Association Leadership
• Organization and Leadership
  • Association Co-Chair
  • Association Member
  • Work Group Co-chair
  • Work Group Member
• Resources Required
• Funding

Vision

The Emergency Informatics Association recognizes the necessity of consistent informatics modeling for emergency care. Patient safety, quality of care, efficient pre-hospital and ED workflow, and the work environment itself, will be the principle beneficiaries of creation and implementation of common, but functionally separate, models for data (common information model) and for systems (functional model-profile). This sort of modeling is fundamental to seamless collection, transmission, and accessing patient information from initial contact through triage, transport, treatment and disposition, as well as to simplified, scalable, interoperable, and universally adoptable information systems.

Mission Statement

To propose, track, publish, and promote projects in the Emergency Informatics domain in support of the EIA vision. To assist existing organizations that encounter technical issues in the Emergency Informatics space, and to facilitate communication and coordination among them. To ensure these projects and organizations keep sight of the underlying primary principles of enhancing patient care, safety, workflow, and work environment.

Scope

The main scope of this charter is to assist the transition to electronic medical records, successfully improve the delivery and quality of Emergency care and support interoperability. Work will be performed to meet the pre-hospital and Emergency Department needs. All aspects of informatics and information technology in this realm may be addressed, including human computer factors, medical vocabularies, interoperability, government policy, education, research, and preparedness. Depth in each of these areas will be a function of interests and needs of the Association membership.

The widespread and interoperable deployment of the deliverables listed here is critical for the success of the Emergency Informatics. In order to ensure interoperable implementations the Association’s chief goal is to collaborate with other groups’ efforts and serve as a point of intersection to help their independent work move forward.

Success Criteria

The goal of the Emergency Informatics Association is ultimately the success of products of the member organizations. It is difficult to assign credit for the successfulness of this facilitation. Therefore, we measure our success as the collaboration that we make possible using the Association infrastructure.

Duration

The Emergency Informatics Association is initially chartered as a migration/evolution of the successful “Emergency Care Working Group” with significant scope change as outlined in this document.

This transition is to occur gradually, but the Association will formally begin on January 1, 2008, and is to last indefinitely.

Deliverables

The following lists the intended deliverables, each available to all members.

• Minutes of telephone conferences and face to face meetings.
• A regularly updated publicly accessible road map setting out the expected dates for both externally and internally developed work projects. Working Group’s public deliverables, e.g. Working Drafts, Last Calls, Candidate and Proposed Recommendations. The road map is to be updated at least every three months.
• Maintenance of Working Groups with mayinclude but are not limited to:
  • Proposed recommendations for harmonization of Emergency related medical (including pre-hospital) messaging standards
  • Proposed recommendations for maintenance of EDIS features
  • Educational recommendations for Informatics competencies of an Emergency Physician (to be included in residency training), Emergency Nurse, a one month Emergency Informatics rotation, an emergency residency Informatics tract, and an Emergency Informatics Fellowship (applicable to both nursing and medicine).
  • Others
• Maintenance of various communication methods
• Maintenance of the Association website

Relationship to other groups and individuals

The Association will solicit membership from all organizations involved in emergency care including vendors, provider organizations, government agencies, advocacy groups, and standards organizations. We also seek individual as members who speak on their own behalf. We believe the wider the conversation the better the end results.

The following is a list of potential relationships to other groups.

EDIS Vendors

Vendors represent the implementation arm of a large subset of Association’s work. Their membership and participation is an important part the Association’s success. Their participation and needs are to be a focus of Association leadership.

Individual Healthcare Providers, Researchers, and Developers

Individuals may participate on their own, separate from any group associations (and in addition to any groups they might also represent). The Association welcomes independent innovative contributions.

Professional Organizations

The Association hopes there will be cooperation from The Emergency Nurses Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, National Association of EMS Physicians. This is to ensure products meet the wide range of needs of our constituents.

Standards Development Organizations

The Association will cooperate with Health Level 7, NEMSIS, and other SDOs to conform to and influence their standards.

Government Agencies

ONCHIT, HHS, CDC

Other Groups and Organizations

The Association will reach out to these groups with in order to facilitate coordination.

Membership

Selection

Members are invited and self-selected individuals and organizations from the relationship list above.

Fees

There will be no fees for membership. Please see section on sponsorship.

Openness Policies

The Emergency Informatics Association is accountable to the communities it purports to represent for the quality of its technical work and of its recommendations. In support of this public accountability, and to ease cooperation with external bodies, the Association maintains a regularly updated publicly accessible road map (see also Deliverables), and makes efforts to release products according to the road map. Feedback and discussion on drafts will be encouraged on the mailing list.

The Association Web page, the proceedings of this Working Group (including the e-mail archives and minutes of meetings of the Working Group are accessible to Association members.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Association promotes an open working environment. Whenever possible, technical decisions should be made unencumbered by intellectual property right (IPR) claims.

Work products will be released via available methods, including via organizations which may claim some element of IPR.

Communication Mechanisms

Face to face meetings

The Working Group gathers for face-to-face discussions at least once every 6 months and preferably 4 times a year in conjunction with other meetings (potentially at AMIA SA, SAME Annual Meeting, PaACEP isEDIS, ACEP SA, HL7 Working groups, etc.). Meeting details will be made available on the Association Website and via email announcements.

Mailing Lists

The archived member-only mailing list is the primary means of discussion within the group and is available on the Association web site.

Phone

A weekly one-hour phone conference will be held. Details will be published in advance on the Association mailing list. The Chair is expected to post an agenda to the Association mailing list in advance of the conference call. Agenda item requests should be submitted at least 48 hrs in advance to assure inclusion.

Association Web Page

The Association shall maintain a Web page that shows the list of active documents and projects, the meeting schedule, and links to email archives, meeting minutes, and the list of Working Group participants etc. These pages will be restricted in access to Association members and others by invitation.

Voting Mechanisms

The Association works by consensus. In the event of failure to achieve consensus on substantive issues, the group may resort to a vote. Details of voting remain to be determined.

Participation

by Association Members

Members are expected to actively participate in one working group and to vote for leadership annually.

by Association Leadership

Association leadership will maintain a high volume mailing list for appropriate communications. They will meet regularly on weekly calls. They will form, dissolve, and put working groups into remission.

Organization and Leadership

Association Co-Chair

There will be up to 2 co-chairs at any time, elected for 2 year terms. Co-chair responsibility is to

1. Facilitate communication among Association members
2. Form and dissolve working groups
3. Represent the Association to other groups
4. Facilitate the Mission, Scope, and Vision of the Association

Association Member

Maintain participation in at least one active Working Group

Work Group Co-Chair

1. Facilitate the goals of the Working Group as defined by the co-chairs at its inception
2. Facilitate communication between the Working Group and the Association co-chairs
3. Provide monthly updates to the Association co-chairs regarding work group timeline/roadmap.

Work Group Member

Perform Specific Functions necessary to the goals of the Work Group

Resources Required

Within the Association

1. Although equivalent of 0.75 full-time staff for clerical assistance and management would be ideal, lack of funding necessitates spread of responsibilities among volunteer leadership. It is expected that the total Team resources devoted to this WG will be equivalent to 1.15 of a full-time staff including administrative logistics.
2. Support for press relations and for publishing documents on the Association Web Page.
3. Use of teleconferencing facilities for a regular weekly hour-long teleconference.
4. As a volunteer organization, members are encouraged to facilitate the success of the Allaince through donation of professional time, be it funded or unfunded.

Outside the Association

Face to face meetings are generally hosted by organizations participating in the Working Group. This will involve arranging a place to meet, reserving accommodation for participants and catering so as to maximize effective working time.

Funding

Membership fees

There will be no fees for Membership.

Supporters

Donations may be made by members to support the needs of the Association. Donators will have the opportunity to claim that distinction.

Individuals may donate $20 or more per year to be an “Individual Supporter of the Emergency Informatics Association.” Organizations may donate $100 or more per year to be an “Organizational Supporter of the Association. This is subject to change without notice on a yearly basis. Organizations or Individuals may also provide % employee FTE, goods, or services with an equivalent or greater value to meet these requirements. Supporters will also be recognized as such on the Association website.

Contracts and Grants

The Association may seek contracts or grants to fund work appropriate to its mission.

Versioning (Date Descending):

Jeff Nielson <JeffNielson@gmail.com> 1/31/08 (Clarifications to Vision, Mission from Don Kamens)

Jeff Nielson <JeffNielson@gmail.com> 1/18/08

Jeff Nielson <JeffNielson@gmail.com> 12/29/07

Jim McClay <jmcclaymd@gmail.com> 12/28/07

Jeff Nielson <JeffNielson@gmail.com> (initial draft)