Answer :
The correct answer is: (C) HL7.
HL7, or Health Level Seven International, is a primary standards organization well-known for setting the guidelines for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information. It aims to provide a framework that enables data to be shared and understood across different healthcare systems, thus improving efficiency and patient care.
HL7 was founded in 1987 and plays a crucial role in healthcare informatics by developing comprehensive standards. These standards are used to facilitate the interoperability between healthcare information systems, ensuring that patient data can be transmitted accurately and comprehensively from one system to another. This is critically important in healthcare where timely and complete information can significantly influence patient outcomes.
With the advancement of digital technology in healthcare settings, HL7 has become integral to enabling different healthcare applications and services to work together, making it one of the most recognized standards organizations in the context of information transfer across systems.
In contrast, ASTM (A), AHRQ (B), and NCPDP (D) have different focuses. ASTM International develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) is an agency that focuses on research to improve healthcare. NCPDP (National Council for Prescription Drug Programs) specializes in pharmacy services. Thus, HL7 is particularly notable for its role in healthcare information systems.