The OMG MDMI Standard as a possible solution for the Information Framework component in SAIF required for computable semantic interoperability
A Cross Paradigm Interoperability Working Group’s objective is to explore developing a solution for interoperability use cases using the SAIF methodology and various HL7, IHE and OMG immunizationrelated artifacts. Any solution should help implementers select from the available artifacts (recognize legacy issues) and deploy them across a set of interoperating systems to satisfy the immunization and other use cases and show a clear path for meeting Meaningful Use and/or European interoperability project requirements.
This paper presents an existing Object Management Group Standard, Model Driven Message
Interoperability (MDMI), as a potential solution of a component of the SAIF methodology: the
Information Framework.
MDMI contains two different models; the first model, the MDMI model, is OMG UML and MOF standards compliant. MDMI is a Platform Independent Model (PIM) for providing semantic interoperability between two different formats (e.g., wire formats or data formats). The second model is the MDMI Referent Index (RI) that is also a PIM.
Creating a healthcare platform specific model (PSM) from the MDMI PIM model requires the healthcare
PSM for the MDMI RI, an Information Model such as the Consolidated CDA Model. From this PSM model, one can then develop a MDMI artifact to support the specific use case (also needed is information from the Behavior Framework). The instance created for the MDMI model is called an
MDMI map, which is a software machine computable artifact also based on the OMG standard of XMI.
The PSM RI Model for clinical healthcare is created from the PIM RI model by developing a set of clear semantic terms. The PSM RI Model for Healthcare can also be created as a software machine computable artifact in the OMG XMI standard.
In terms of the SAIF, The Informational Model used is equivalent to the Conceptual Element in the SAIF
Information Framework. The healthcare MDMI PSM is the Logical Model in the SAIF Information
Framework for a specific healthcare Information Model. The MDMI XMI map is the Implementable
Element for the SAIF Information Framework. The same correlations can be made between the MDMI
RI the SAIF methodology.
MDMI may differ from other interoperability models in the MDMI assumes there will never be one static, immutable information model. The MDMI standard enables interoperability between different
Information Models, and versions of Information Models, by developing a MDMI Map for that specific
Information Model. Interoperability is achieved between different information models (conceptual models) by the fact that any MDMI Map created using the same MDMI RI PSM is interoperable with any other MDMI Map, even if it uses a different conceptual model.
What is static and immutable is the MDMI RI. As stated previously, the RI contains a collection of semantically clear terms for the specific platform. The analogy is an unabridged dictionary; semantic

terms (words) never get deleted. The major difference between the RI and a dictionary is that for any semantically distinct term, there is one and only one term.
Present Status of MDMI
1.
Standard: MDMI is an approved standard of the Object Management Group.
2.
Implementation: MDMI is presently a subproject of the Open Health Tools MDHT project. As a task of that project, we have been able take a healthcare industry standard Information Model, the Consolidated CDA model, and generate the logical MDMI PIM for healthcare. From this, can now generate a MDMI map for the CCD document which is a SAIF implementable artifact. We are confident his automation process can be extended to other use cases (summary discharge, referral, etc). In addition, we have developed MDMI maps using the MDMI model and the RI to create MDMI maps for a proprietary “information model” and format. We have then been able to exchange information between these two different models and formats to produce the required semantic interoperability.