In today’s digital health era, data is everywhere—but its real power lies in how meaningfully it can be exchanged and reused. That’s the premise of a compelling new paper by Rhonda Facile and co-authors, who propose a simple but bold vision: synchronize health data standards at the source to unlock trustworthy, reusable, and impactful research.
Published in Frontiers in Digital Health, the article lays out five key principles to achieve what the authors call TRUE research—producing Trustworthy, Reusable, Understandable data Elements. At its core, the paper is a call to action: to stop treating data standards as an afterthought and start seeing them as a cornerstone of modern, interoperable healthcare systems.
Why Semantic Interoperability Matters
Semantic interoperability (SI) means that data exchanged between systems retains the same meaning—regardless of where it comes from or where it goes. It ensures that when we talk about “blood pressure” in one system, it means exactly the same thing in another.
But in the real world, this is still a struggle. Disparate standards, mismatched formats, and ad hoc mapping often lead to misinterpretation, wasted resources, and even compromised care. Without SI, research findings may be flawed, automation limited, and decision support less reliable.
The 5 Principles for Achieving TRUE Research
To fix this, the authors outline five practical principles:
-
Reuse existing standards – Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use what’s already been developed, validated, and globally recognized.
-
Avoid mapping – Mapping across standards is costly, error-prone, and often leads to loss of meaning.
-
Implement standards early – Adopt them at the design and data collection phase, not after the fact.
-
Engage in standards development – Participate in the process to ensure standards meet the needs of your projects and communities.
-
Promote harmonization across SDOs – Advocate for synchronized standards from different Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) to work together.
Real-World Examples of Standards in Sync
The paper highlights several success stories where collaboration has paid off. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, CDISC developed a harmonized vaccine administration standard by aligning data elements from the WHO, CDC, and European eHealth guidelines. No mapping. Just harmonization from the start.
Other efforts like the Vulcan HL7 accelerator, xShare in Europe, and the BRIDG model show that cross-organizational and cross-continental standardization is not only possible—it’s already underway.
Toward a Future of Seamless Health Data
Ultimately, the article argues that achieving semantic interoperability isn’t a technical hurdle—it’s a governance and mindset challenge. It’s about embedding standards into the DNA of digital health initiatives from day one.
With global momentum growing around AI, real-world evidence, and cross-border health data sharing, this approach couldn’t be more timely. TRUE research depends on our ability to speak the same data language—and these five principles provide the roadmap.
“We hope to provide a view to a future where standards are in sync,” write the authors, “to ensure the conduct of trustworthy research for the sake of improving health outcomes for all.”
Read the full open-access article here: Frontiers in Digital Health.
