Sweden
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare is Sweden’s representative to the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO®). The National Board of Health and Welfare will, within the Swedish Strategy for E-health, assume overall national and strategic responsibility for making individually-based patient and user information clearer and more easily measurable and accessible. The work involves defining and describing the content of appropriate health and social care documentation, and is being carried out in two projects: The National Information Structure (2007–2009) and the National Interdisciplinary Terminology (July 2007–March 2011). It is taking place in close collaboration with The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), health and social care principals and other actors in the field of health and social care.
In May 2007 the National Board of Health and Welfare was commissioned by the Government to lead the Swedish work on SNOMED CT®. The Swedish work will incorporate both the health service and social service sectors. This means that there will be an additional task to work on harmonization and to complement concepts and terms used within social services and the health service. Within the project there will be particular focus on dealing with interdisciplinary terminology ensuring that harmonization takes place with national classifications, concepts and terms, with standardized and recommended use. SNOMED CT will be translated and this will take a few years to complete. During this time pilot projects can be initiated, stimulated and prepared. The translation is expected to be completed in 2011.
For SNOMED CT to have the expected effect, two key functions are information and training. SALAR has a central role with responsibility for co-ordinated training of regional "ambassadors". Universities and colleges that run health care programmes ought to be assigned responsibility for ensuring that suitable training is incorporated into undergraduate and further education programmes.
The National Board of Health and Welfare is, as the National Release Centre of Sweden, responsible for distributing and managing SNOMED CT in Sweden, and will develop and maintain content specific to Sweden.
Other Relevant Links
Here is a list of links to more information about the National Board of Health and Welfare related to Snomed CT.
- About the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare in English
- SNOMED CT - Should Sweden join now or wait? in English
The work within the project:
- National Terminology and Classification Resource including SNOMED CT - Project Plan in English
- The Translation of SNOMED CT
Here you can find links to information about Sweden, its Health and Social Care and the work within the Swedish Strategy for E-Health.
- A National decision in Sweden on healthcare informatic standard in English
- The Swedish System of Government in English
- The Governmnt and the Government Offices in Sweden in English
- The National Strategy for E-health in English
- Swedish Health Care in English
- Elderly Care in Sweden in English
- Swedish disability policy in English
- Center for eHealth in Sweden in English
- Management and Administration of SNOMED CT as a part of an Interdisciplinary Terminology for Health and Social Care in English
- Realization of the Government Commission An Interdisciplinary Terminology for Health and Social Care
- An Interdisciplinary Terminology for Health and Social Care - Final Report
