The January Working Group Meeting (January 8-13, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona) marks the beginning of HL7's 20th year. It is apparent that HL7 must come to grips with the exponential growth in size and scope evidenced over the past few years. In the beginning our organization was of a size and nature that the members could literally gather in a single large room and advance the standard. For better or for worse those days are long gone. In an effort to maintain the integrity and intensity of those earlier days we've adopted numerous procedures and processes to ensure our continued operation as an "open, consensus-based standards development organization." We've reached a point where that designation deserves further consideration.
At our last meeting in San Diego, I was presented with an analogy of HL7 as a transitional entrepreneurial organization. Many of us have seen or been involved in such organizations. They tend to move along well, meeting objectives and growing steadily, until that inevitable point where the entrepreneurs who formed the organization reach the bounds of their various skill sets. It is a time when specialized skills and a different level of expertise are necessary to maintain the objectives of the organization. HL7 has long relied on the breadth and depth of its members' expertise and commitment to carry the organization, for the most part very successfully. However, we've reached a point where even our seemingly tireless volunteers are on the brink of collapse.
It is, in my opinion, time to realize that HL7 is in fact an "organization committed to the development of open, consensus-based standards." This is a subtle yet important turn of phrase. HL7 epitomizes open, consensus-based standards development and the vast majority of our processes are targeted to that end; yet we've tended to blithely assume that the organizational components so necessary to our existence are a byproduct of that focus. I believe it is time for HL7 leadership, represented by the Board of Directors, to begin to implement appropriate business process into the operational.cfmects of HL7.
Without a doubt our members represent the crème de la crème of standards development, it is imperative that we provide a viable business platform to support that work. I use the term "work" advisedly. If we are to continue to meet the requirements for healthcare informatics standards and interoperability we must have a working environment supportive of those efforts. This will require infrastructure, funding, and staffing beyond any previously envisioned by our volunteer organization. The Strategic Initiative effort, funded by a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is only the first step in our evolution as a viable, self-sustaining organization whose purpose is the development of open, consensus-based standards. We are on the cusp of a tremendous effort to remodel and reinvigorate HL7. I invite all of you to support and contribute to that effort in any way possible, and encourage you to attend HL7's Working Group Meeting in Phoenix from January 8-13, 2006.
Sincerely
Charles “Chuck” Meyer, Chair, HL7 Board of Directors (2006-07)
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