Welcome to the MCBK Community!
We believe every decision affecting the health of individuals and populations should be informed by the best available knowledge.
Mobilizing Computable Biomedical Knowledge is an international community from academia, the sciences, and government working together to ensure that biomedical knowledge in computable form is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.
2025 MCBK North America Chapter Meeting
February 27-28, 2025
UPDATES
Recent publication from the HEAL Workgroup in the Journal of the Medical Library Association
Summary of the 5th Annual MCBK Public Meeting published in Learning Health Systems
Recent publication from the Technical Standards and Infrastructure Workgroup in Learning Health Systems
Learning Health Systems Journal
Official Journal of MCBK
ACCESS PUBLICATION
What is computable biomedical knowledge?
Computable biomedical knowledge (CBK) is the result of an analytic and/or deliberative process about human health, or affecting human health, that is explicit and machine-executable, and therefore can be represented and reasoned upon using logic, formal standards, and mathematical approaches. More information can be found in the MCBK Manifesto.
It is no longer sufficient to represent health-related knowledge solely in human-readable forms, such as words and images disseminated via books and journal articles. The rapid rate of scientific discovery, the growth of health informatics, and the increasing importance of models and guidelines require health knowledge that is represented in computable forms, as machine-executable code. Computable knowledge unleashes the potential of information technology to generate and deliver relevant health advice to individuals and organizations with great speed on a worldwide scale.
Scientific discovery on a global scale requires health knowledge represented as machine-executable code
What does it mean to mobilize computable biomedical knowledge?
In short, mobilizing computable biomedical knowledge (MCBK) means enabling the curation, dissemination, and application of medical knowledge at a global scale. Thus, mobilization requires interoperable global infrastructure.
The management of computable biomedical knowledge will be essential to the success of precision medicine, the achievement of high-functioning learning health systems, and more generally to the advancement of biomedical science.
Computable knowledge is the keystone to high-functioning learning health systems
What does MCBK do?
Formed in 2018, the Mobilizing Computable Biomedical Knowledge community is taking action to ensure that health organizations have the infrastructure in place to access and apply computable knowledge; to develop national policies and standards that require all data to be discoverable and available for safe and fair use; and to promote the widespread adoption and implementation of health knowledge in support of healthcare, biomedical research, public health and education. MCBK has four workgroups that convene on a regular basis.
Learn more about: Trust & Policy, Sustainability & Inclusion, Standards, and Technical Infrastructure.
“We must develop a communications system so that the miraculous triumphs of modern science can be taken from the laboratory and transmitted to all in need.” – Senator Lister Hill, 1965