METeOR, a new interactive online metadata registry released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, promises
better health and welfare statistics, and potential application
across many other areas of government.
METeOR was launched at the National Museum of Australia by James
O'Loghlin, host of ABC TV's The New Inventors.
METeOR (METadata [electronic] Online Registry) combines an
innovative metadata registry concept and state of the art
technology to help ensure absolute consistency in health and
welfare metadata (or 'data about data'), resulting in more
comparable and accurate statistics.
AIHW Director Dr Richard Madden said that with 7 million records
a year from all over Australia being added to the AIHW's hospital
database alone, and demands for authoritative data rising
exponentially, the potential for chaos was 'huge'.
'But METeOR is an absolute breakthrough in bringing order out of
chaos so that not only can you compare "apples with apples", you
can compare apples harvested on a particular day, or by variety,
colour, size or in any other useful way, and you would need to
compare fewer of them to come up with accurate conclusions.'
Dr Madden said an additional and very important benefit was that
the technology in METeOR served to draw together Australia's
community of data developers and data providers in the health and
welfare fields and encouraged them to share ideas and
information.
'METeOR will act as a "hub" of data standards, linking health,
housing and community services data information. I'm hopeful that
the mechanisms, processes and standards within METeOR will not only
be the 'gold standard' for administrative and survey data as at
present-the same standards could also cross into the "brave new
world" of e-health and be used for clinical data.'
'This would open up a "treasure trove" of data to all kinds of
interesting analyses.
'There is also the potential to use the standards in METeOR in
other areas of government, and in whole-of-government approaches to
metadata. METeOR could even be used as a global metadata registry
for health, community services and housing assistance', Dr Madden
said.
David Braddock, Head of the AIHW's Metadata Management Unit,
said that all statisticians knew that good metadata was the key to
standardising the way data is collected and reported, and giving
data proper meaning.
'METeOR is so useful in that not only is it the repository of
the metadata; it manages the history and development of these
structures and definitions, and makes them available to users.'
'A user can raise a new standard, or put one together using
parts of pre-approved standards. All this is shared instantly with
other interested parties, who can then use METeOR to have the
standard approved online by the relevant national data
committee.'
Mr Braddock said METeOR would allow development of metadata more
easily and cheaply, to current international standards.
(METeOR is available online at http://meteor.aihw.gov.au)
20 May 2005
Further information: Mr David Braddock, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1136 or 0407 915 851,
Ms Heather Logie, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1051 or 0401 068 762