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November 2005

In November 2005, the UK Government's NHS Connecting for Health agency (NHS CFH) and SNOMED International, announced their intention to establish an independent International Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO) to transfer the ownership of SNOMED CT from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to a new international organisation, offering other countries the opportunity to take a leading role in the ownership, development, maintenance and promotion of the SNOMED CT clinical terminology.

 

A project group consisting of senior staff from the CAP and NHS CFH (IHTSDO Project Group) was set up to develop the new SNOMED Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO). The remit for this group was to explore the possibilities of converting the existing SNOMED CT business and governance model from its proprietary ownership and user licensing to a publicly owned entity, funded by subscription from Member nations or groups of nations.

 

The IHTSDO Project Group developed the SNOMED IHTSDO business model, which includes the framework for financial sustainability and this model was shared with representatives of countries throughout the world. There was general support for the proposed business, governance, technical and financial models.

 

June 2006

In June 2006, six countries, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and the United States, met with the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in New York City to discuss the creation of  the IHTSDO.

 

The participants at the meeting agreed to move forward together toward their common goal, and to exchange non-binding Letters of Intent among themselves as an expression of their commitment to complete the process of founding the IHTSDO.

 

The participants identified significant areas of common ground and reached preliminary agreement on a range of issues necessary to complete the SNOMED IHTSDO formation process, including:

• The formal governance structure for the new organization;

• The next steps for the creation of the legal entity that will become the SNOMED IHTSDO; 

• The SNOMED CT intellectual property rights that will be transferred from the CAP to the SNOMED IHTSDO;

• The structure of the funding mechanism for the organization  

• That the CAP will act as the initial Support Organization for the SNOMED IHTSDO; and

• A process and timeline for moving forward to resolve the remaining questions, and to complete those tasks necessary for the formation of the SNOMED IHTSDO (SDO).

October 2006

The Potential Charter Members (PCMs), (now including New Zealand) met in Copenhagen to work through the detail of the deal they aimed to discuss with the CAP in the second round of formal negotiations.

 

During the two days of negotiation with CAP, the participants identified significant areas of common ground and reached agreement in principle subject to finalization of contract on the following:

• The terms for transfer of the intellectual property from the CAP to the SDO;

• The establishment of Denmark as the country of incorporation for the SDO as a not-for-profit Danish Society; 

• The next steps for the creation of the legal entity that will become the SNOMED SDO®;

• The SNOMED CT intellectual property rights that will be transferred from the CAP to the SNOMED SDO® at the time of formal creation;

• The structure of the financial model for the new organization;

• Agreement of roles and activities for staff of the SDO;

• Further agreement on the role of CAP as the initial Support Organization for the SNOMED SDO®; and

• A process and timeline for moving forward to resolve the remaining questions, and to complete those tasks necessary for the formation of the SNOMED SDO®.

March 2007

The PCMs and CAP continued to negotiate into the New Year to agree on business principles on key issues, specifically Intellectual Property and Licensing.

 

They also worked to produce a detailed and complex functional specification to define what requirements were necessary to carry out the business, and that would provide the main exhibit of the Support Services Agreement.

 

A lot of time was spent by the PCMs in finalizing the Articles. The last version published on the web-site was agreed at the Statutory General Assembly which took place in Copenhagen on 9 March. 

 

Approval of the Articles of Association and Directors of the Management Board enabled the Association to formally register in Denmark.  The Chair of the Management Board was also appointed as Professor Martin Severs for a term of two years and an interim CEO, Ulrich Andersen, was appointed on a 2 day-a-week basis for a term of 6 months.  

 

IHTSDO was finally established on 23 March 2007 and acquired the SNOMED CT intellectual property on 26 April 2007.

 

 

December 2007

2007 has been a busy year for IHTSDO. The organization was founded early in the year, with the rights to SNOMED CT being acquired in April 2007. Steps were taken during the year 2007 in terms of IHTSDO’s governance, advisory, and corporate structures, as well as in terms of the development, maintenance, and use of the terminology itself.  

All areas are evolving. Progress has been made on many fronts but much more is planned for 2008 and beyond. Our goal is to continue to strengthen our programs in order to meet the needs of IHTSDO’s members and the patients and health care providers that they serve.