This Handbook provides guidance on the general implementation of healthcare messaging which:focuses on messaging strategy; including defining plans, guidelines and directions;describes the planning and modelling process;outlines the implementation process for healthcare messaging; andexplains the process of certification and evaluation to determine the success of the healthcare messaging implementation.It is important to note that the MUM is not targeted at solving issues of data integrity, communication, overall security, and others inherent when investigating intra-enterprise data exchange.It is equally important to note that it is not within this document’s scope to address wider complementary issues, such as:Accreditation and certification issues, namely:current industry perspectives;incentives and disincentives;options for national accreditation and certification models (e.g. for evaluating health informatics standards conformance); andinternational accreditation and certification issues (including interaction with international agencies).The need for an analysis statement as to the likely impact of any related high-level policy statement on the health care sector in Australia, particularly software vendors and on national government projects.Appendix A outlines the seven layers of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model.

First published as HB 172.1-2006.