233 | 233 | The behaviour of standards communities in these times, spending much time, money and energy disputing and seemingly seeking above all else to dominate one another’s agendas, was scientifically extremely questionable, yet seemed to brook no questioning. It is not sufficient justification that standards for health information management are deemed crucially needed, that a crude consensus and legislative process be adopted for their definition, when the underpinning empirical foundations for organising and modelling information in the domain are still in process of evolution through empirical research. Monolithic modelling of healthcare information domains is clearly a fascinating exercise but, if devoid of empirical and practical context, clear domain definitions and verifiable objectives, has little if any meaning. Such models are in any case inevitably non-identifiable or non-unique formulations, incapable of purposive application within implementable and clinically viable systems. |