This document describes a proposed, voluntary, industry-wide reference tool and guideline to describe the features and functionality of the Portable Document Format (PDF) for the healthcare industry. It is designed to facilitate a means by which healthcare information is captured, exchanged, preserved, and protected so that participants within the healthcare system can use the well-known and trusted PDF specification as the electronic container of the information.
This guide was developed to promote and accelerate the adoption of a digital healthcare record model using XML-based standards. With the introduction of complex healthcare industry legal and regulatory requirements that directly impact the patient and healthcare provider, the adoption of the PDF Healthcare Best Practices Guide will be driven by the need for usability, portability, simplicity and availability of healthcare information.
"Using PDF in healthcare will greatly improve the communications between patients and their providers and all the members of the healthcare chain as well as provide greater control of the patient information," said John Mancini, President, AIIM. "This will ensure that the patient is an active participant in the exchange of critical healthcare information."
"The new best practices guide can help healthcare providers reduce the unnecessary errors created in the transmission of paper-based health records, by advocating and defining an electronic solution," said Melonie Warfel, Director, WW Standards and Life Sciences at Adobe Systems. "The use of PDF provides users with a familiar electronic environment, and helps eliminate the need for specialized technology or proprietary readers/viewers giving consumers access to their healthcare information at any time, anywhere and on any device."
"PDF Healthcare, through the use of the PDF format, provides an additional cost effective, easy to implement and secure means for the exchange and communication of personalized patient and provider information," said Omid Moghadam, Director, Personal Health Record Programs, Intel.
