T3sdrp20080414

The Technical and Support Services Steering Division report follows:

• The Steering Division voiced concern regarding the rule that at the Monday Night WGM TSC meetings do not include discussions and presentations.

By vetting issues at the TSC meeting allowed co-chairs to be better prepared to respond to their committee's comments and concerns. Presentations made to the TSC can also be vetted and discussed prior to presentation during general sessions. In some cases, information is being made available for the first time and it seems like the co-chairs should be able to ask questions in order to manage comments post the general session presentations. It is the recommendation of the Steering Division that the TSC re-consider their position on presentations. It is recognized that the TSC should determine what should and should not be vetted with the Work Group co-chairs and as with all things, agenda items must be eliminated judiciously to accommodate time constraints.

• The Steering Division is concerned about the ballots process:

It was pointed out that if one is not a member of the original ballot pool one could not vote on follow-up ballots. Even if one was in the original ballot pool, however chose to abstain one would not be eligible to vote on follow-up ballots. What was discovered is: There are individuals that are submitting negative votes just to be in the ballot pool to secure their ability to vote in subsequent ballots in case they discover issues at a later time they are interested in commenting on. Clearly this is well within the balloter's rights, consistent with the GOM, however seems to creates a false number of negatives that must then be ruled on just so individuals can maintain their ability to vote in the future. Motion: Allow abstentions to be included as part of the ballot pool for the follow-up ballot beginning with the next ballot cycle.

Please note, the Technical Support Services Steering Division is making this motion with the following stipulations:

• That this motion does not jeopardize HL7's standing with ANSI or ISO and that the GOM can be modified in an appropriate manner to accommodate this motion.
• The steering division will withdraw the motion if certification with ANSI or ISO is in jeopardy, we will leave it up to those more knowledgeable to help guide next steps.
• Further, if there are issues with completing the motion for the next ballot cycle, assuming certification is not in jeopardy, will accept amendments to accommodate timing to be consistent with a reasonable period to amend all appropriate documents.