Overview - ISO/TR 6231:2024 (Health informatics - Standardizing graphical content)
ISO/TR 6231:2024 is a Technical Report from ISO/TC 215 that documents the need, status, opportunities and challenges for standardizing graphics and images in health informatics. The report is a first-edition, non‑normative guide that: explains why visual content matters for clinical interoperability and telehealth; surveys current efforts and example uses; and proposes a plan of action and roadmap for implementation of standardized healthcare graphics.
Key technical topics and guidance
The report focuses on practical, implementation‑oriented topics rather than prescriptive requirements. Major technical areas covered include:
- Terminology and semantics - integration of graphics with clinical terminologies (e.g., SNOMED CT), post‑ and pre‑coordination concepts, and mapping strategies.
- Graphics use cases - examples for EHR toolbars, PC and mobile apps, help files, toolboxes, and palettes for consistent UI/UX.
- Interoperability needs - exchanging graphical content across systems, telehealth workflows, and during disaster response or cross‑cultural encounters.
- Technical enablers - implications for NLP, AI, and medical devices that consume or produce graphical annotations.
- Governance and implementation roadmap - proposed actions for creating, curating and adopting standardized image sets.
- Challenges and gaps - accessibility, cultural variability, intellectual property, implementation cost and tooling needs.
Note: as a Technical Report, ISO/TR 6231:2024 presents analysis and recommended actions rather than normative requirements.
Practical applications and users
ISO/TR 6231:2024 is designed to help organizations and professionals who deal with visual content in healthcare IT. Typical beneficiaries:
- Application developers and UI/UX teams building EHRs, telehealth and mobile health apps.
- Telehealth solution providers seeking consistent visual cues across platforms.
- Terminology and ontology managers integrating images with coded clinical concepts.
- Clinicians and care teams who annotate patient records with standardized visuals (e.g., pain, wounds).
- Medical device manufacturers, AI/NLP developers, informaticians, analysts and researchers.
Practical benefits include improved cross‑language communication, consistent patient documentation, better interoperability in telehealth, and more robust training data for AI.
Related standards and references
ISO/TR 6231:2024 complements existing health informatics standards referenced in the report, such as:
For organizations implementing visual standards in health IT, ISO/TR 6231:2024 provides a strategic foundation and roadmap for harmonizing graphical content across systems and contexts.