Canadian Core Data for Interoperability (CACDI)

Data elements included in the CACDI are selected in accordance with the following inclusion principles:

• Patient safety and patient-centred care: Prioritize data elements that directly support patient safety and patient-centred care, informed by clinical expertise and patient perspectives
• Canadian relevance and broad applicability: Ensure data elements address the needs of Canada’s health systems and apply across multiple use cases, independent of specific sectors, jurisdictions or implementation contexts
• Standards alignment: Aim to align data elements with established Canadian and international standards to promote consistency, interoperability and comparability
• Implementation readiness and maturity: Include data elements that are sufficiently mature, well-defined and ready for implementation and use in health information systems

The CACDI includes detailed information about the following:

• Data element: A distinct unit of information that represents a specific attribute or characteristic in a data set. In some cases, the data element definition references a fixed code which is used to uniquely identify the associated observation.

• Terminology foundation: The code system(s) and/or base value set(s) from which curated subsets can be developed for a specific use case. The terminology foundation defines the broadest set of permitted values for the purposes of health data exchange and may be derived from clinical terminologies, classifications or other standardized code systems, as appropriate to the use case. The terminology foundation is represented as either the value set’s logical (intensional) definition (i.e., with inclusion and/or exclusion criteria) or by explicitly enumerating specific concepts (extensional). Where relevant, the terminology foundation may be expressed using a clinical terminology such as SNOMED CT CA or LOINC (pCLOCD) or using classifications and other code systems such as ICD, CCI, UCUM, ISO or HL7. The terminology foundation references the formal concept representation (e.g., SNOMED CT fully specified name [FSN] where SNOMED CT is used), which can differ from the preferred term/synonym displayed in the “Value set examples” column.

• Value set: A defined set of permissible values, including associated codes, terms and definitions, that can be assigned to a specific data element. The value sets referenced represent pan-Canadian value set recommendations. In some cases, additional value sets are referenced to meet a specific use case outlined in the additional guidance. The additional value sets are not generally intended to be substituted for the recommended value set. Value set examples represent display names. Further information on codes and concepts is available through the value set hyperlink. In most cases, value set examples provided are a partial list, and where the full list is provided it is noted. Canada Health Infoway hosts and maintains the National Terminology Server, where pan-Canadian value sets are made available. While a user account is required to access the Terminology Server, the value sets themselves are available at no cost.