Improving Cancer Data Interoperability: The Promise of the Minimal Common Oncology Data Elements (mCODE) Initiative
Plain-language summary
This paper describes the Minimal Common Oncology Data Elements (mCODE), a consensus data standard developed through an ASCO-convened work group to make it easier to share structured cancer patient data across electronic health records. The specification is organized into six domains (patient, laboratory/vital, disease, genomics, treatment, and outcome) spanning 23 profiles and 90 data elements, and it advanced through public comment and Health Level 7 balloting to reach its version 1.0 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources implementation guide in March 2020. mCODE aims to build shared infrastructure to better connect cancer care and research, is available free, and had pilot implementations underway.
Read the full paper (DOI: 10.1200/CCI.20.00059).
This is a plain-language summary written for discoverability; the authoritative version is the published paper. Part of Travis Osterman's peer-reviewed publications.