Overview
ISO/TR 17522:2015 - "Health informatics - Provisions for health applications on mobile/smart devices" is a Technical Report from ISO/TC 215 that surveys the state of mobile health (mHealth) applications and proposes reference architectures and interoperability considerations for smart devices. The report is descriptive and non‑prescriptive: it reviews emerging standards and practical deployment scenarios for health apps running on smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and similar devices to support “anywhere, anytime” healthcare services.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Interoperability and architectures: analysis of architectures required for mHealth, including profiles such as the IHE Mobile Access to Health Documents (MHD) and mobile Electronic Medical Record (EMR) designs.
- Registry / Repository (Reg/Rep) models: guidance on mobile access to document sharing environments (XDS-like), and simplified, constrained-device access patterns.
- MHD profile specifics: defines a simple HTTP/REST interface for mobile devices and four core transactions - submit document, get metadata, find documents by query parameters, and retrieve a document - using document entry metadata (JSON).
- Mobile medical applications: categorization of apps that process medical device data, apps that function as medical devices, and architectural implications for safety, data flow and device integration.
- Use cases and workflows: emergency patient transport, telehealth, medication management, chronic disease management, mobile PACS, kiosks and PHR publishing.
- Terminology and ecosystem elements: terms and abbreviations relevant to mobile health (APIs, SDKs, PACS, PHR, PCD, vital signs, security concepts).
- Platform considerations: references to mobile operating systems and connectivity standards (e.g., Bluetooth, HTTP), and emphasis on metadata, security (confidentiality, integrity, availability) and constrained environments.
Practical applications and who uses it
ISO/TR 17522:2015 is useful for:
- Health IT architects and system integrators designing mobile access to EHR/HIE document repositories.
- mHealth application developers and SDK vendors implementing RESTful document exchange and metadata handling for constrained devices.
- Medical device manufacturers and PCD integrators who need mobile data flows and safety classifications.
- Healthcare providers and health information exchange (HIE) operators planning mobile-enabled workflows (telehealth, ambulance triage, PHR integration).
- Policy makers and standards planners assessing interoperability gaps and reference architectures for mobile health deployments.
Related standards
Relevant standards and profiles referenced or aligned with ISO/TR 17522:2015 include IHE MHD, XDS (Cross‑Enterprise Document Sharing), HL7 standards (CDA, FHIR), GS1 data carriers and other health informatics specifications for secure, interoperable mobile health solutions.
Keywords: ISO/TR 17522:2015, ISO TR 17522, health informatics, mHealth, mobile health interoperability, MHD profile, XDS, mobile EMR, mobile medical applications.