Overview
ISO/TS 5569:2023 - Health informatics - Conceptual data model for Chinese medicinal herbs - defines a conceptual data model intended for the creation and maintenance of databases that catalogue Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH). The Technical Specification organizes CMH records into four main domains: medicinal attributes, plant attributes, geographic attributes, and identifications. A Unified Modeling Language (UML) representation illustrates the model and supports consistent database design for health informatics and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) knowledge management.
Key topics and technical requirements
The document specifies the conceptual elements and typical datatypes for CMH records. Key topics include:
- Medicinal attributes
- CMH Name (CMHN): multilingual fields (Latin, English, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Pinyin)
- CMH Code (CMHC): coding per ISO 18668-3 (or ISO 18668-1 when needed)
- Alias(es), Medicinal Part(s), Indication(s)
- Chemical Composition(s), Pharmacological Action, CMH Toxicity, Product Name(s)
- Plant attributes
- Family, Genus, Plant Picture(s), Plant Morphology
- Geographic attributes
- Producing Area(s) and producing area code(s) - use of standard country/subdivision codes (ISO 3166 series)
- Geographic Location(s) - coordinates represented per ISO 6709
- Growth Environment, Collection and Preparation, Archive Date
- Identifications
- Determination of active ingredients, Morphological and Microscopic Examination, Physical and Chemical Identification, Fingerprint Identification and Pictures
The specification is normative for structuring CMH databases and references related coding and geographic standards to ensure interoperability.
Applications and users
ISO/TS 5569:2023 is practical for organizations that design, implement, or maintain databases and information systems involving Chinese medicinal herbs, including:
- Health informatics teams and database architects building CMH repositories
- Researchers in traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacognosy
- Botanical gardens, conservationists and resource managers tracking producing areas and scarcity
- Regulatory authorities and quality control labs requiring standardized identification and fingerprinting data
- Pharmaceutical and herbal product manufacturers documenting product names and chemical composition
Benefits include improved data exchange, standardized records for conservation and sustainable cultivation, support for substitution and breeding programs, and enhanced quality control for TCM resources.
Related standards
Relevant normative references cited in ISO/TS 5569:2023:
Keywords: ISO/TS 5569:2023, Chinese medicinal herbs, CMH database, conceptual data model, health informatics, traditional Chinese medicine, ISO 18668, ISO 6709.