Laika (EHR Testing Framework)
Encyclopedia
Laika is an open source
Electronic Health Record (EHR
) testing framework. Laika analyzes and reports on the interoperability capabilities of EHR systems. This includes the testing for certification of EHR software products and networks. Laika is designed to verify the input and output of EHR data against the standards and criteria identified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)
.
Since June 2008, Laika has been used by CCHIT to perform the machine-automated testing of EHR systems for interoperability.
Corporation. CCHIT is leading the functional requirements definition of the Laika testing framework. MITRE is leading the technical software design and is prototyping the software service.
The Certification Commission is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate adoption of health information technology in the United States
. MITRE is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that manages three Federally Funded Research and Development Center
s (FFRDCs) and works in partnership with the US government applying systems engineering
and advanced technology to address issues of critical national importance in the USA.
open source license. Laika uses the Ruby on Rails
framework, the Java
programming language, the open source PostgreSQL
database, and several Web 2.0
JavaScript libraries including Scriptaculous and Prototype
.
) system to produce summary quality measures on the provider's patient population. The MITRE Corporation was also tasked as the technical lead team for the popHealth activity.
and first living animal to enter earth orbit, paving the way for human space flight.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Electronic Health Record (EHR
Electronic Health Record
An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
) testing framework. Laika analyzes and reports on the interoperability capabilities of EHR systems. This includes the testing for certification of EHR software products and networks. Laika is designed to verify the input and output of EHR data against the standards and criteria identified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)
Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology is an independent, 5013 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology...
.
Since June 2008, Laika has been used by CCHIT to perform the machine-automated testing of EHR systems for interoperability.
Laika Interoperability Packages
- Laika C32: Laika C32 was the first tool to be created in the Laika framework suite, and supports testing of the HL7/ASTM Continuity of Care Document (CCD) constrained by the HITSPHealthcare Information Technology Standards PanelThe American National Standards Institute Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel was created in 2005 as part of efforts by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to promote interoperability in health care by harmonizing health information technology...
C32 version 2.1 specification.
- Laika ORU: was released in September 2008 to test the interoperability of HL7 2.5.1 lab messages. Laika ORU can be used with MirthMirth (software)Mirth is an open source cross-platform HL7 interface engine that enables bi-directional sending of HL7 messages between systems and applications over multiple transports available under the Mozilla Public License 1.1 license.-Background:...
, an open source health informatics messaging package, to manage the routing of HL7 2.5.1 lab messages with Laika.
- Laika XDS: is scheduled to be released in March 2009 to test EHR systems and Health Information Exchange systems with XDS registries and repositories.
CCHIT and MITRE Collaboration
Laika is an active collaborative effort between CCHIT and The MITREMITRE
The Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...
Corporation. CCHIT is leading the functional requirements definition of the Laika testing framework. MITRE is leading the technical software design and is prototyping the software service.
The Certification Commission is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate adoption of health information technology in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. MITRE is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that manages three Federally Funded Research and Development Center
Federally funded research and development center
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers conduct research for the United States Government. They are administered in accordance with U.S Code of Federal Regulations, Title 48, Part 35, Section 35.017 by universities and corporations....
s (FFRDCs) and works in partnership with the US government applying systems engineering
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
and advanced technology to address issues of critical national importance in the USA.
Deployment in Virtual Environments
Laika has been deployed in virtual environments using, for example, the Amazon cloud environment. This allows centralized testing of multiple EHRs in segmented environments. It also allows portable implementations, so that field testing can be achieved.Technical Details
Laika is licensed under an Apache 2.0Apache License
The Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
open source license. Laika uses the Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails, often shortened to Rails or RoR, is an open source web application framework for the Ruby programming language.-History:...
framework, the Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
programming language, the open source PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
database, and several Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
JavaScript libraries including Scriptaculous and Prototype
Prototype Javascript Framework
The Prototype JavaScript Framework is a JavaScript framework created by Sam Stephenson in February 2005 as part of the foundation for Ajax support in Ruby on Rails. It is implemented as a single file of JavaScript code, usually named prototype.js...
.
Laika and popHealth
In 2010, the core Laika software infrastructure, consisting of the Laika database and Rails controllers, was forked to support the open source popHealth project. The popHealth project was developed from resources provided by the Federal Health Architecture (FHA) within the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). popHealth integrates with a healthcare provider's electronic health record (EHRElectronic Health Record
An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
) system to produce summary quality measures on the provider's patient population. The MITRE Corporation was also tasked as the technical lead team for the popHealth activity.
Background of Project Name Laika
Laika is named after the dogLaika
Laika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit.As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there...
and first living animal to enter earth orbit, paving the way for human space flight.