CARE-IT Reference Library:Scope
Purpose
The CARE-IT Reference Library provides a structured reference model for clinical digital infrastructure.
Its scope is to describe how clinical capabilities are enabled, operated and governed within healthcare organisations.
The library focuses on the relationship between clinical work, digital systems, organisational responsibilities and interoperability standards.
It does not aim to replace existing clinical terminologies, interoperability standards or regulatory frameworks. Instead, it connects these resources into a coherent representation of clinical digital infrastructure.
In Scope
The CARE-IT Reference Library documents knowledge related to:
Clinical capabilities
- Clinical Domains
- Clinical Capabilities
- Clinical Capability Profiles
- Clinical workflows
- Clinical information needs
Digital infrastructure
- System Constellations
- Clinical applications
- Medical devices
- Integration components
- Infrastructure dependencies
- Data flows
Governance
- Ownership
- Operational responsibility
- Clinical responsibility
- Lifecycle management
- Operational readiness
- Information governance
- Architecture governance
Interoperability
- SNOMED CT
- HL7 FHIR
- openEHR
- IHE Integration Profiles
- DICOM
- LOINC
- Other recognised international standards
Regulation and quality
- Medical device regulations
- Information security
- Risk management
- Quality assurance
- Operational safety
- Compliance
Out of Scope
The CARE-IT Reference Library does not attempt to replace or duplicate existing authoritative sources.
The following are intentionally outside the scope of the library:
- Complete clinical terminologies
- Medical textbooks
- Clinical practice guidelines
- Product documentation
- Vendor marketing material
- Software user manuals
- Local implementation documentation
- Organisation-specific operating procedures
Relationship to existing standards
The CARE-IT Reference Library complements existing international standards by connecting them within the context of clinical digital infrastructure.
Examples include:
| Standard | Primary purpose |
|---|---|
| SNOMED CT | Clinical concepts |
| LOINC | Laboratory and clinical observations |
| HL7 FHIR | Information exchange |
| openEHR | Clinical information models |
| IHE | Interoperability workflows |
| DICOM | Medical imaging interoperability |
| ISO / IEC | Safety, quality and software lifecycle |
Rather than redefining these standards, the library references and relates them to clinical capabilities and operational system constellations.
Target audience
The library is intended for professionals involved in planning, operating and governing clinical digital infrastructure, including:
- Clinical Informatics
- Enterprise Architecture
- Healthcare IT
- Medical Technology
- Clinical Engineering
- Digital Health Programmes
- Healthcare Providers
- Software Vendors
- Researchers
- Students
Intended use
The CARE-IT Reference Library supports activities such as:
- Clinical architecture design
- Digital transformation
- Procurement planning
- Enterprise architecture
- Capability modelling
- System lifecycle management
- Operational readiness assessments
- Interoperability planning
- Governance design
- Education and research
Future scope
The library will continue to evolve as healthcare technologies, interoperability standards and governance models mature.
New content is added only when it contributes to a consistent, evidence-based and vendor-neutral description of clinical digital infrastructure.