Extending HL7 RIM Model to Capture Physical Activity Data

Experts recommend to include physical activity in everyone’s daily routine as it helps to curb various medical issues. They provide diverse healthcare services (e.g., interventions, exercise routine, personal trainer plan, therapy, etc.) to promote healthy living and to increase physical activity in one’s ever increasing hectic schedules. An individual generates a lot of data when he/she performs a physical activity. However, this data (exercises, training plans, etc.) and any other associated data (e.g., results, vitals, calories, weight, etc.) is not represented using commonly agreed standards. The lack of standards has given rise to two primary issues. First, interoperability issues don’t allow the physical activity data to be shared and integrated with heterogeneous healthcare systems. Second, various organizations and research programs still majorly rely on paper to record the data. This makes it highly impractical to develop any data-driven physical activity applications or evidence-based program. This article provides a detailed analysis of the problem and provides a potential solution in terms of extending HL7 RIM model using health and life sciences entities from Schema.org. Keywords-physical activity model; exercise model; HL7 RIM physical activity; HL7 exercise; EIM; FHIR; FHIR exercise