Selected news

27.10.08

Singapore Becoming a Member

Singapore Becoming a Member of International Health Terminology Coalition SNOMED CT Standards and Tools to be Available Nation-Wide, Singapore and Copenhagen, Denmark: October 28th, 2008 – The Ministry of Health Holdings Ltd. of Singapore and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) announced today that Singapore is becoming a Member of IHTSDO, joining a global effort to develop, maintain, and enable the use of SNOMED CT in health systems around the world.

"We are currently coordinating national efforts to plan, develop and deploy a national electronic health record to support the sharing of relevant health information between authorized healthcare providers. This requires the adoption of common data structures and content to ensure the quality and interpretability of all data being exchanged. The use of
SNOMED CT as our clinical terminology standard is key to realizing the benefits of the electronic health record including improved quality and safety of care and enhanced care coordination. We are proud to be the first Asian country to join IHTSDO and look forward to the opportunity of working with the other members to achieve common goals ” says Dr Sarah Muttitt, Chief Information Officer for the Ministry of Health Holdings Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.

In joining IHTSDO, the Ministry of Health Holdings Ltd. will make SNOMED CT available throughout Singapore for use in electronic health records, health research, and other applications. Users of the terminology in Singapore will also have access to new resources as they are developed. For example, work is currently underway on a multi-lingual workbench that will host a toolset needed to develop, manage, and use the terminology, such as tools for terminology editing, translation, mapping, and other applications.

Singapore First Country in Asia to Join IHTSDO
In becoming a Member, Singapore joins the nine Charter Members of IHTSDO (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States) who have been working together since 2007 to support the on-going development and maintenance of SNOMED CT and related standards. Members share costs on a sliding scale based on national income and make the standards freely available in their jurisdictions. Membership in IHTSDO is open to all countries as part of the organization’s on-going effort to enable broader access to, and use of, standardized clinical terminologies worldwide. Other countries are expected to join IHTSDO shortly.

“We are very pleased to welcome Singapore as a member of the IHTSDO,” says Martin Severs, Chair of IHTSDO’s Management Board. “Patients in Singapore, like my patients in England, can benefit from the fact that health terminology standards make the safe and effective exchange of information among authorized health care providers easier. IHTSDO is a way of sharing global experiences and resources, which benefits patients and health professionals around the world.”

About the Ministry of Health Holdings Pte. Ltd. (MOHH)
MOH Holdings Pte Ltd (MOHH) is the holding company of Singapore's public healthcare assets. Together with Singapore's Ministry of Health, MOHH drives various strategic initiatives for the public healthcare sector, including the development the talent management framework for Singapore's public healthcare workers, charting a national IT strategy for the public hospitals and recruitment of healthcare personnel for Singapore's public healthcare community. For more information, see www.mohh.com.sg.

About the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO)
The IHTSDO (International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation) and its Members seek to improve the health of humankind by fostering the development and use of suitable standardized clinical terminologies, notably SNOMED CT, in order to support the safe, accurate, and effective exchange of health information. The IHTSDO is an international organisation, established as a Danish not-for-profit association. More information is available at www.ihtsdo.org.

About SNOMED CT
SNOMED Clinical Terms™ (SNOMED CT™) is a standardized terminology that can be used as the foundation for electronic health records and other applications. For example, different clinicians often use different terms to describe the same concept. SNOMED CT contains more than 310,000 unique concepts and more than 1.3 million links or relationships between them that ensure that this information is captured consistently, accurately, and reliably across the health system. The terminology is used in more than forty countries around the world. SNOMED CT was originally created by the College of American Pathologists by combining SNOMED RT and a computer-based nomenclature and classification known as Clinical Terms Version 3, formerly known as Read Codes Version 3, which was created on behalf of the UK Department of Health and is Crown copyright.

Media Contacts:

Colleen Brooks
Principal, Standards
MOHH
colleen.brooks(at)mohh.com.sg

Dr Sarah Muttitt
CMIO
MOHH
sarah.muttitt(at)mohh.com.sg
+65 6622 3771

Jennifer Zelmer
CEO
IHTSDO
media(at)ihtsdo.org
+45 3644 8736

SNOMED, SNOMED CT, and IHTSDO are trademarks of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. All other trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners.

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Selected news 27.10.08 Singapore Becoming a Member Singapore Becoming a Member of International Health Terminology Coalition SNOMED CT Standards and Tools to be Available Nation-Wide, Singapore and Copenhagen, Denmark: October 28th, 2008 – The Ministry of Health Holdings Ltd. of Singapore and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) announced today that Singapore is becoming a Member of IHTSDO, joining a global effort to develop, maintain, and enable the use of SNOMED CT in health systems around the world. "We are currently coordinating national efforts to plan, develop and deploy a national electronic health record to support the sharing of relevant health information between authorized healthcare providers. This requires the adoption of common data structures and content to ensure the quality and interpretability of all data being exchanged. The use of SNOMED CT as our clinical terminology standard is key to realizing the benefits of the electronic health record including improved quality and safety of care and enhanced care coordination. We are proud to be the first Asian country to join IHTSDO and look forward to the opportunity of working with the other members to achieve common goals ” says Dr Sarah Muttitt, Chief Information Officer for the Ministry of Health Holdings Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. In joining IHTSDO, the Ministry of Health Holdings Ltd. will make SNOMED CT available throughout Singapore for use in electronic health records, health research, and other applications. Users of the terminology in Singapore will also have access to new resources as they are developed. For example, work is currently underway on a multi-lingual workbench that will host a toolset needed to develop, manage, and use the terminology, such as tools for terminology editing, translation, mapping, and other applications. Singapore First Country in Asia to Join IHTSDO In becoming a Member, Singapore joins the nine Charter Members of IHTSDO (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States) who have been working together since 2007 to support the on-going development and maintenance of SNOMED CT and related standards. Members share costs on a sliding scale based on national income and make the standards freely available in their jurisdictions. Membership in IHTSDO is open to all countries as part of the organization’s on-going effort to enable broader access to, and use of, standardized clinical terminologies worldwide. Other countries are expected to join IHTSDO shortly. “We are very pleased to welcome Singapore as a member of the IHTSDO,” says Martin Severs, Chair of IHTSDO’s Management Board. “Patients in Singapore, like my patients in England, can benefit from the fact that health terminology standards make the safe and effective exchange of information among authorized health care providers easier. IHTSDO is a way of sharing global experiences and resources, which benefits patients and health professionals around the world.” About the Ministry of Health Holdings Pte. Ltd. (MOHH) MOH Holdings Pte Ltd (MOHH) is the holding company of Singapore's public healthcare assets. Together with Singapore's Ministry of Health, MOHH drives various strategic initiatives for the public healthcare sector, including the development the talent management framework for Singapore's public healthcare workers, charting a national IT strategy for the public hospitals and recruitment of healthcare personnel for Singapore's public healthcare community. For more information, see www.mohh.com.sg. About the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) The IHTSDO (International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation) and its Members seek to improve the health of humankind by fostering the development and use of suitable standardized clinical terminologies, notably SNOMED CT, in order to support the safe, accurate, and effective exchange of health information. The IHTSDO is an international organisation, established as a Danish not-for-profit association. More information is available at www.ihtsdo.org. About SNOMED CT SNOMED Clinical Terms™ (SNOMED CT™) is a standardized terminology that can be used as the foundation for electronic health records and other applications. For example, different clinicians often use different terms to describe the same concept. SNOMED CT contains more than 310,000 unique concepts and more than 1.3 million links or relationships between them that ensure that this information is captured consistently, accurately, and reliably across the health system. The terminology is used in more than forty countries around the world. SNOMED CT was originally created by the College of American Pathologists by combining SNOMED RT and a computer-based nomenclature and classification known as Clinical Terms Version 3, formerly known as Read Codes Version 3, which was created on behalf of the UK Department of Health and is Crown copyright. Media Contacts: Colleen Brooks Principal, Standards MOHH colleen.brooks(at)mohh.com.sg Dr Sarah Muttitt CMIO MOHH sarah.muttitt(at)mohh.com.sg +65 6622 3771 Jennifer Zelmer CEO IHTSDO media(at)ihtsdo.org +45 3644 8736 SNOMED, SNOMED CT, and IHTSDO are trademarks of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. All other trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners. <- Go to: News