International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation

International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), known as SNOMED International, is a not-for-profit organization legally incorporated in Denmark. SNOMED International is responsible for the development, maintenance, and promotion of SNOMED CT, a comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology. SNOMED CT is designed to facilitate the consistent, accurate, and comprehensive representation of clinical content in healthcare records, enabling a standardized way to represent medical terms across different systems and countries.

Overview

The primary goal of SNOMED International is to ensure that SNOMED CT and other related terminologies are globally recognized and adopted as the principal standards for structuring clinical information in electronic health records (EHRs). By providing a common language for healthcare terms, SNOMED International aims to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare delivery worldwide.

History

SNOMED International was established in 2007, succeeding the work of various earlier initiatives aimed at standardizing medical terminology. The organization was formed to take over the responsibilities of maintaining and distributing SNOMED CT, which had been developed by the College of American Pathologists since the 1960s.

Membership

Membership in SNOMED International is open to countries, which become members by signing the organization's Charter. Member countries contribute to the governance of the organization and the ongoing development of SNOMED CT. As of the last update, SNOMED International had members from over 30 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, among others.

Activities

SNOMED International's activities include the continuous enhancement of SNOMED CT, promoting its adoption and implementation across member countries, and providing training and support to ensure effective use of the terminology. The organization also collaborates with other international standards bodies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to align SNOMED CT with other global health information standards.

SNOMED CT

SNOMED CT is at the core of SNOMED International's work. It is a systematically organized collection of medical terms providing codes, terms, synonyms, and definitions used in clinical documentation and reporting. SNOMED CT supports the development of comprehensive, high-quality clinical content in health records. It enables interoperability between different healthcare systems and facilitates clinical research, health policy decision-making, and patient care management.

Challenges and Future Directions

Despite its widespread adoption, the implementation of SNOMED CT faces challenges, including the complexity of integrating it into existing healthcare IT systems, the need for ongoing training and support for healthcare professionals, and the adaptation of the terminology to local languages and healthcare practices. SNOMED International continues to work on addressing these challenges, focusing on enhancing the usability, accessibility, and relevance of SNOMED CT in diverse healthcare contexts.

See Also

• Electronic Health Record (EHR)
• Health Informatics
• Medical Classification
• Interoperability

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