CARE-IT Reference Library:Roadmap
Vision
The CARE-IT Reference Library aims to become an open, vendor-neutral reference knowledge graph for clinical digital infrastructure.
Its long-term goal is to provide a shared language for describing clinical capabilities, digital system constellations, governance models and operational responsibilities across healthcare organisations.
The library will evolve incrementally while maintaining consistency, traceability and interoperability with recognised international standards.
Development Roadmap
Phase 1 — Foundation
Status: In Progress
Establish the methodological and organisational foundations of the library.
Objectives
- Define the methodology
- Establish the information model
- Define entity types and relationships
- Create governance documentation
- Build the initial platform infrastructure
Phase 2 — Clinical Capability Library
Develop a structured catalogue of clinical capabilities using internationally recognised terminology wherever possible.
Objectives
- Clinical Domains
- Clinical Capabilities
- SNOMED CT mappings
- Capability hierarchies
- Capability identifiers
Phase 3 — Clinical Capability Profiles
Describe how individual clinical capabilities are realised within healthcare organisations.
Each profile will document:
- purpose
- clinical workflow
- participating professional roles
- required information
- supporting digital systems
- interoperability requirements
- governance considerations
- operational dependencies
Phase 4 — System Constellations
Document how clinical capabilities are enabled through interacting digital systems.
Examples include:
- Radiology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Intensive Care
- Operating Theatre
- Radiation Oncology
- Medication Management
Each constellation will describe:
- participating systems
- medical devices
- applications
- interfaces
- infrastructure dependencies
- operational boundaries
Phase 5 — Governance Library
Create reusable knowledge describing governance of clinical digital infrastructure.
Topics include:
- ownership
- lifecycle management
- operational readiness
- architecture governance
- change management
- information governance
- regulatory responsibilities
Phase 6 — Standards Integration
Expand interoperability with international standards.
Examples include:
- SNOMED CT
- LOINC
- HL7 FHIR
- openEHR
- IHE
- DICOM
- ISO / IEC standards
Rather than duplicating these standards, the library will establish explicit semantic relationships between them.
Phase 7 — Knowledge Graph
Transform the library into a fully connected knowledge graph.
Knowledge objects will become machine-readable and interconnected through explicit relationships, enabling:
- semantic navigation
- advanced search
- SPARQL queries
- AI-assisted knowledge retrieval
- automated traceability
- architecture analysis
Long-term Vision
The CARE-IT Reference Library is intended to become a common reference for organisations involved in designing, operating and governing clinical digital infrastructure.
By connecting clinical capabilities, digital technologies, governance concepts and international standards, the library seeks to improve consistency, interoperability and shared understanding across the healthcare ecosystem.
Guiding Principles
Throughout its evolution, the library will remain:
- Vendor-neutral
- Capability-centred
- Standards-based
- Governance-oriented
- Evidence-informed
- Open for collaboration
- Focused on long-term maintainability
The CARE-IT Reference Library is an evolving knowledge resource.
New knowledge is added incrementally and reviewed to ensure consistency with the methodology and information model. The emphasis is on quality, interoperability and long-term sustainability rather than rapid growth.