Question

If two organizations agree to collect smoking information in a one character field, but each has different codes and definitions for the field (e.g., current smoker at the hospital is coded to 1 [in a range that goes from 1-4], whereas at the central registry it is coded to 2 [in a range that goes from 1-4]), this situation is considered to be?

1) Semantically interoperable.
2) Syntactically interoperable.
3) Both (a) and (b)
4) Neither (a) nor (b)

Answer 1

The situation described is considered to be syntactically interoperable, as the two organizations can exchange data despite using different codes and definitions for the same field.

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation described in the question is considered to be syntactically interoperable.

Being syntactically interoperable means that the two organizations can exchange data and understand each other's codes, even though they have different definitions for the same field. In this case, both organizations use a one character field to collect smoking information, but they assign different codes to represent current smokers. While the hospital uses code 1, the central registry uses code 2.

This situation allows for the exchange of data between the two organizations, but it is important to note that the codes and definitions are not semantically interoperable. Semantically interoperable means that the codes have the same meaning or interpretation across different systems.