Brazil has a long tradition in the use of health information systems, however – until now – there is no consensus on the minimum data set from which to compose discharge summaries. This article describes the metdodology used by a group of experts – members of WG1 of ISOTC 215 Health Informatics Brazilian mirror committe – to define the information model of the discharge summary. This paper describes the current status of the standardization process and the first pilot tests with this infomation content.