Letter from the Editor

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to welcome you to our third issue of the AMIA Standards Standard, which aims to inform you about the latest news and developments in the world of health informatics standardization.

In the last issue we introduced the ARGOS project, a Trans-Atlantic co-operation between the EuroRec Institute and AMIA that is now poised to publish a set of Policy Briefs on key health informatics topics, many of which require interoperability and standards. We are pleased to bring you high level summaries of five areas of ARGOS achievement:

• Semantic interoperability
• Modelling and simulation of human physiology and diseases with a focus on the Virtual Physiological Human
• Policy Needs and Options for a Common Approach towards Measuring Adoption, Usage and Benefits of eHealth
• The current status of Certification of Electronic Records in the US and Europe
• eHealth Informatics Workforce challenges

These briefs emphasize the importance of a wide range of standards relating to technology, people and processes. In other words, they present a holistic and socio-technical perspective on the need for standards. Please do use our commenting feature to post your views on the articles. How accurately do you feel these policy briefs crystallize the challenges ahead?

Through our Editorial Board, this issue also contains news and updates from many leading international standardization bodies.

I hope that you enjoy reading this issue, and look forward to reading your comments.

With best wishes,

Dipak Kalra
Editor