ISO/TS 5569:2023

Health informatics — Conceptual data model for Chinese medicinal herbs

This document specifies a conceptual data model for Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH). The organization of the data model for each CMH consists of its medicinal attributes, plant attributes, geographic attributes and identifications. This document is applicable to the establishment and maintenance of CMH databases.

Informatique de santé — Modèle de données conceptuel pour les plantes médicinales chinoises

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 26-Oct-2023
• ICS: 35.240.80 - IT applications in health care technology
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 215 - Health informatics
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 215 - Health informatics
• Current Stage: 6060 - International Standard published
• Start Date: 27-Oct-2023
• Due Date: 12-Sep-2023
• Completion Date: 27-Oct-2023

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:

• ISO 18668-1 / ISO 18668-3 - Coding systems for Chinese medicines
• ISO 3166-1 / ISO 3166-2 / ISO 3166-3 - Country and subdivision codes
• ISO 6709 - Geographic point location representation

Keywords: ISO/TS 5569:2023, Chinese medicinal herbs, CMH database, conceptual data model, health informatics, traditional Chinese medicine, ISO 18668, ISO 6709.

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 5569
First edition
2023-10
Health informatics — Conceptual data
model for Chinese medicinal herbs
Informatique de santé — Modèle de données conceptuel pour les
plantes médicinales chinoises
Reference number
© ISO 2023
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Conceptual data model for CMH . 2
4.1 Overview . 2
4.2 Medicinal attributes . 3
4.2.1 Overview . 3
4.2.2 CMH Name . 3
4.2.3 CMH Code . 3
4.2.4 Alias(es) . 3
4.2.5 Medicinal Part(s) . 3
4.2.6 Indication(s) . 3
4.2.7 Chemical Composition(s). 3
4.2.8 Pharmacological Action . 3
4.2.9 CMH Toxicity . 3
4.2.10 Product Name(s) . 3
4.3 Plant attributes . 4
4.3.1 Overview . 4
4.3.2 Family . 4
4.3.3 Genus . 4
4.3.4 Plant Picture(s) . 4
4.3.5 Plant Morphology . 4
4.4 Geographic attributes . 4
4.4.1 Overview . 4
4.4.2 Producing Area(s) . 4
4.4.3 Producing Area Code(s) . 4
4.4.4 Geographic Location(s) . 4
4.4.5 Growth Environment. 4
4.4.6 Collection and Preparation . 5
4.4.7 Archive Date . 5
4.5 Identifications . 5
4.5.1 Overview . 5
4.5.2 Determination of Active Ingredients . 5
4.5.3 Morphological Identification . 5
4.5.4 Microscopic Examination . 5
4.5.5 Physical and Chemical Identification . 5
4.5.6 Fingerprint Identification . 5
4.5.7 Fingerprint Picture(s) . 5
5 Example . 6
Annex A (informative) Example . 7
Bibliography .10
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use
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www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 215, Health informatics, in collaboration
with Technical Committee ISO/TC 249, Traditional Chinese medicine.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
Chinese medicinal herbs have been used systematically for over 4,000 years because of their efficacy
and cost-effectiveness in preventing and curing illness. According to the WHO, around 21 000 plant
species have the potential for being used as medicinal plants, therefore many health authorities and
administrators took traditional forms of medicine more seriously and have explored the possibility of
utilizing them in primary health care.
However, the species of commonly used medicinal plants are decreasing and many plants face
extinction. In China, for example, liquorice stocks fell sharply by more than 40% from the 1950s to
the 2010s. The main reasons include an emerging growth in demand, deforestation, environmental
deterioration, ecological imbalance and lack of awareness of environmental protection.
It would be beneficial to establish unified information systems including databases. There are a range
of regional and other databases on the uses of medicinal plants. The development of a common design
for databases on the conservation and sustainable use of Chinese medicinal herbs should also be done
at the international level. It is beneficial to exchange information both within and between countries
permitting a constant process of refining and updating.
By collecting information of individual Chinese medicinal herb, such as plant attributes, growth
geographic attributes, medicinal attributes and identification methods, etc., it is possible to set
up centralized databases to explore further on scarce species, alternative varieties and authentic
Chinese medicinal herbs. This would also facilitate artificial cultivation, sustainable development and
application of Chinese herbal medicine resources.
This document aims at protecting scarce species of Chinese medicinal herbs, promoting their
cultivation, seeking proper substitutes and breeding new varieties in high quality. Moreover, it can
assist the standardization and information process of the general surveys on Chinese medicinal herbs.
v
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 5569:2023(E)
Health informatics — Conceptual data model for Chinese
medicinal herbs
1 Scope
This document specifies a conceptual data model for Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH). The organization
of the data model for each CMH consists of its medicinal attributes, plant attributes, geographic
attributes and identifications.
This document is applicable to the establishment and maintenance of CMH databases.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 3166-1, Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country
code
ISO 3166-2, Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2: Country
subdivision code
ISO 3166-3, Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 3: Code for
formerly used names of countries
ISO 18668-1, Traditional Chinese medicine — Coding system for Chinese medicines — Part 1: Coding rules
for Chinese medicines
ISO 18668-3, Traditional Chinese medicine — Coding system for Chinese medicines — Part 3: Codes for
Chinese Materia Medica
ISO 6709, Standard representation of geographic point location by coordinates
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
conceptual data model
data model that represents an abstract view of the real world
Note 1 to entry: A conceptual model represents the human understanding of a system, which can be anywhere
from a paper-based system to a complex database in an IT system.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-1:2023, 3.2.25]
3.2
Chinese medicinal herb
CMH
medicinal parts of medicinal plants after preliminary processing, which are used as raw materials in
Chinese medicines
Note 1 to entry: Except for animal, mineral, and composite materials.
3.3
producing area
area where medicinal plants grow naturally or artificially
3.4
microscopic examination
examination of a test specimen by microscope with a magnification of generally × 50 to × 500, with or
without etching
[SOURCE: ISO 17639:2022, 3.2]
3.5
physical and chemical identification
qualitative or quantitative analysis of the active ingredient, main ingredient or characteristic ingredient
of a Chinese medicinal herb by physical or chemical means with the purpose to tell its authenticity and
grading
4 Conceptual data model for CMH
4.1 Overview
The data model for each CMH shall consist of its medicinal attributes, plant attributes, geographic
attributes and identifications. The conceptual data model for CMH is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 — Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagram of the conceptual data model for CMH
4.2 Medicinal attributes
4.2.1 Overview
The medicinal attributes shall include: CMH Name, CMH Code, Medicinal Part(s), In
...