User:Richard 2010 CL/Distributed Terminology System (DTS)

Distributed Terminology System (DTS)

The Distributed Terminology System (DTS) is an open source vocabulary server, used to create, manage, and deploy terminologies, vocabularies and code sets within healthcare enterprises. Following a number of years of commercial development by Apelon, DTS became a free and open source software project available on SourceForge. Since then, DTS has been downloaded over 2,500 times by organizations around the world and remains a top choice for terminology management by the healthcare industry.

DTS is a comprehensive solution for the management of both national and international terminologies such as SNOMED CT, ICD-9-CM, CPT, HCPCS, LOINC, RxNorm and others, as well as locally-developed vocabularies and code sets. It serves as a central repository for an enterprise’s terminology assets and provides a variety of tools for the development and management of these assets. DTS also enables the development and maintenance of interconnections, or mappings, between these terminologies. By using a management platform such as DTS, organizations significantly reduce the cost of the acquisition, management, integration, and deployment of its terminology assets.

DTS provides for multiple integration methodologies with other applications. These include simple text or XML file exchanges (ETL), direct API calls using Java or .NET, or web services interfaces. Other unique features of DTS include: ·Object model – all terminologies are represented in a consistent object model to improve comprehension and simplify integration of terminology data with existing, and future, terminology-aware applications

·Full API – a comprehensive Java and .NET API that supports all terminology features including local terminology creation and modeling

·Subset creation and maintenance – definition of subsets of terminologies using a powerful expression-based approach rather than tedious enumeration

·Data import and export – easily specified via convenient GUI wizards; supporting both text and XML files and including an English-like query language

·Modular Classification – the ability to create local extensions to Description Logic-based terminologies (such as SNOMED CT) using the underlying terminology’s semantic mechanisms

·Workflow – the creation, tracking and management of work assignments by managers, such as map development and/or review, with associated management and audit reports

·Plug-in Extensions – easy extension of the DTS Editor platform with user-written modules and panels to address client-specific needs

DTS is a free and open source software available on SourceForge (with full source code), and features a high-performance vocabulary server, comprehensive terminology knowledgebase, full application programming interface (API) and sophisticated terminology applications, which are used by today’s healthcare enterprises and application developers.