NEHTA Welcomes New Standards Development Organisation

20 September 2005

NEHTA CEO Dr Ian Reinecke today welcomed the announcement made at the Global Health Information Technology Summit in Japan, regarding the proposal to establish an open
international governance mechanism for SNOMED Clinical Terms.

NEHTA CEO Dr Ian Reinecke today welcomed the announcement made at the Global Health Information Technology Summit in Japan, regarding the proposal to establish an open international governance mechanism for SNOMED Clinical Terms. SNOMED (Systemised Nomenclature of Medicine) Clinical Terms provides a common language for health care workers and researchers internationally, enabling a consistent way of
describing diagnoses, procedures, therapies and other terms required to support clinical

communications. This standardisation in terminology is necessary to permit health information to be exchanged electronically. SNOMED Clinical Terms was recently endorsed in principle by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council as the preferred national clinical terminological resource.

SNOMED Clinical Terms has been developed and managed to date by the College of American Pathologists. This management model created a lack of certainty about long-term access to the service, and resulted in governments being reluctant to compel national users to adopt SNOMED Clinical Terms.

However, the establishment of an independent SNOMED Clinical Terms Standards
Development Organisation will mean that nations who elect to become members of the new
organisation will own SNOMED Clinical Terms, giving them surety about long-term access and the ongoing development of the service.

“This is a significant step towards the realisation of patient records which can be electronically
exchanged between health professionals when required,” said Dr Reinecke. “It means that
nations who elect to become members of the SNOMED Clinical Terms Standards Development Organisation will be able to further develop and cost-effectively introduce a truly global clinical language into their local electronic health records.”

Dr Reinecke also noted that “NEHTA has been closely liaising with both the US and UK
governments to support the new Standards Development Organisation, and will continue to
take a lead role in our region in developing local clinical terminologies.”

The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) is a business jointly funded by Australian state, territorial and national governments to establish the standards, specifications and interoperability framework for an electronic health record service.

 

Issued by National E-Health Transition Authority
Further information: Lisa Smith, 0433 967 430