The Continuity of Care Document (CCD) is changing the landscape of Health Information Exchange (HIE) by providing a consolidated, single standard for clinical documents in the healthcare community.

Prior to the approval of the Continuity of Care Document (CCD) in 2007, electronic data exchange of clinical data utilized the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture
(HL7 CDA) or ASTM Continuity of Care Record (CCR). 

The CCD provides harmony between the standards by using CCR within the broader context of CDA. The goal is to increase the quality and efficacy of a patient data transfer between points of care. 

This white paper describes how the CCD has become a driving force towards more modern communication methods for patient data exchange.