SNOMED International is pleased to announce the availability of a new, interactive and self-serve tool designed to help SNOMED CT users assess their current implementation maturity to plot next steps in optimizing their use of the clinical terminology.
SNOMED International is the not-for-profit that owns and develops the clinical terminology standard SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive health terminology product. SNOMED CT enables the global exchange of healthcare information through a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. It supports better health records and clinical decisions, saving time, money and lives.
To realize its full potential, SNOMED CT must be effectively implemented, integrated and maintained within complex healthcare environments. That’s why SNOMED International developed the Implementation Maturity Framework tool – to help stakeholders evaluate their current use of SNOMED CT and identify areas of growth. It is also widely understood that the success and maturity of SNOMED CT implementation depends on many other factors than the features of SNOMED CT: it also depends on a variety of other factors, from the way implementations are governed and managed, to the technologies and techniques applied. The new model is designed to include these other aspects.
Targeted to a broad range of users, including Members, user organizations and software providers, the Implementation Maturity Framework assessment tool outlines the five stages of implementation maturity and provides a structured approach to evaluating the progress and effectiveness of SNOMED CT adoption among SNOMED International Members at each of these stages. It also helps users identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement in their implementation strategies.
Depending on the stakeholder, different criteria are assessed, such as the scope of implementation, governance, stakeholder engagement and interoperability and analytics.
Questions are targeted to each stakeholder, and answer options help to select the “right” level.
It explains the maturity levels, which range from “zero or none” to “optimizing,” and provides options for deploying the framework tool.
To anchor the tool in current best practice, the framework draws on established maturity frameworks across various industries and provides the key models upon which it is based.
Implementation Support Specialist Anne Randorff Højen explains that the framework applies to all healthcare environments where SNOMED CT is used and assesses maturity across six key domains: governance and strategy; technical readiness; semantic interoperability; education and workforce capacity; adoption and use; and evaluation and continuous improvement. “We wanted to enable users to pick the areas most relevant to them and their needs, complete the assessment on their own and end up with a clear understanding of where they are at the moment,” she says. “They can then come to us for targeted guidance on how to meet their next objectives, and can download and share the report with others in their organization.”
To start the process, users select their stakeholder type – Member, vendor or user organization – and provide a brief description. They can then follow the prompts to select relevant key process areas to be assessed.
Senior Implementation Specialist Alejandro Lopez Osornio notes that the Implementation Support Team is inviting early adopters to try out the tool and provide feedback that can be used to refine it over the next few months. “We will also be seeking feedback from Members via our annual Member survey, which is launched every December,” he says. “We look forward to learning about users’ experience and to ensuring it becomes an invaluable tool in all of our stakeholders’ toolkits.”
To learn more about the Implementation Maturity Assessment Framework, visit this page.
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Kelly Kuru
Email: comms@snomed.org