Become a National Member of IHTSDO

National members join IHTSDO and have rights and responsibilities that are set out in the Articles of Association (see Schedule 3). The IHTSDO has developed a Fact Sheet on Membership Benefits (August, 2009)

Affiliate Licenses to use SNOMED CT and related standards are available from each country's National Release Centre.

IHTSDO has two categories of national members. The Charter Members are those countries which together launched the IHTSDO in March 2007: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. Ordinary members are those countries which have joined IHTSDO subsequently – and are going to.

While remaining a member of IHTSDO, the national member is entitled, but not required: 

  • to be represented at, to participate fully in, and to vote at meetings of the General Assembly
  • to nominate candidates for appointment to the Management Board, Committees, and Working Groups of the Association.


The IHTSDO is established as an Association under Danish law and its governance and advisory structure can be viewed here.

How to Join

We welcome new members.

Becoming a national member of IHTSDO is straightforward. To begin the process, simply contact us.

The first formal step is to send a letter to IHTSDO indicating:

  • That the applicant is an agency of the national government of the territory that is applying for membership in IHTSDO and is acting within its authority in applying for ordinary membership of IHTSDO (note: it is also possible for the government to request that a non-governmental organization serve as the member on behalf of their country in which case the information in the points below should be provided in a letter from that organization);
  • That the prospective Member (Ministry or designated organization) agrees to be bound by IHTSDO's Articles of Association (including its appendices), any other policies or other requirements specifically referred to in these Articles, and the Regulations; and

A sample specification for this letter is available here.

Once received, application letters are sent to the Management Board of IHTSDO for approval. After approval, IHTSDO will invoice the prospective member for the joining and annual fees. These fees are established on a "fair share" basis, based on a country's national income and the cost of developing, maintaining, and supporting SNOMED CT and related standards.

At that point, IHTSDO will also ask for national contacts so that we can help to accelerate use of SNOMED CT and participation in its development, maintenance, and governance in the new member country.

The model below illustrates the licensing and distribution process of SNOMED CT.

 

 

IHTSDO®, SNOMED® and SNOMED CT® are registered trademarks of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation.