Overview
ISO 10159:2011 - "Health informatics - Messages and communication - Web access reference manifest" defines a logical manifest format to support safe, consistent sharing of clinical documents and their referenced web-accessible objects between different clinical (computational) domains. The standard specifies how to package a referencing document, the referenced objects (as files) and a manifest so that a target IT system can locally access and display referenced objects even when server URIs differ between source and target domains.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Manifest logical structure: a header section (document source, repository and subject-of-care identification; optional demographic data) and a per-object data table.
- Per-object manifest entries (minimum items specified):
- Source URI as it appears in the original document
- Target URI for use in the destination domain (when known)
- Globally Unique String Identifier (GUSI) of the information object in source and, if available, in target domain
- Information object name and filename containing the object
- Checksum of the file content (integrity check)
- Security text strings referencing access control policies (source and target)
- Globally unique patient identifier allocated by the recipient system for local management
- Use cases addressed: local domain sharing, indirect cross-domain access, and the case where servers in the target domain are not accessible (requiring copies and URI redirection).
- Scope boundaries: ISO 10159:2011 defines the manifest format only. It does not mandate storage/transport technologies or the specific methods for applying URI transformations or traceability beyond the manifest structure.
- Traceability and persistence: the manifest can be transient or persistent; recording target URIs supports later troubleshooting and auditability.
Applications and users
- Primary applications: packaging clinical documents (e.g., web pages that reference imaging or other binary objects), avoiding broken links when moving data between domains, enabling local presentation of referenced objects, and preserving access when documents are digitally signed and cannot be altered.
- Who uses it: health IT architects, EHR and PACS vendors, interoperability engineers, clinical systems integrators, system administrators managing cross-domain document exchange, and organizations implementing IHE XDS-style registries.
- Operational benefits: improved interoperability, predictable document rendering in target domains, file integrity checking, and clearer mapping between source and destination identifiers.
Related standards
ISO 10159:2011 is a practical, standards-based mechanism to ensure reliable web access to referenced clinical objects across different server and domain environments.
