Origins of the Arden Syntax
The Arden Syntax originated in the 1980's, when several knowledge-based systems began to show promise, but researchers recognized the burden of recreating these systems at every institution. Derived initially from Health Evaluation through Logical Processing (HELP) and the Regenstrief Medical Record System (RMRS), the Arden Syntax defines medical logic that can be encoded as independent rules, such as reminders and alerts, with the hope of creating a public library of rules. It was first vetted at an informatics retreat held in 1989 at Columbia University's Arden Homestead. The syntax was intended to be readable by clinician experts but to provide powerful array processing, which was derived largely a programming language called APL. The syntax was improved and implemented by a number of researchers and vendors in the early 1990's and was initially adopted by the consensus standards organization, the American Society for Testing and Materials.
arden syntax knowledge-based system automated decision support