In 2018, SNOMED International’s Member Forum, a group made up of participating representatives from the organization's 39 Member countries, identified a need for a common set of foundational SNOMED CT requirements that could be included in tender documents when procuring eHealth solutions.  In developing this collection of requirements, it became clear that there were a number of benefits to multiple stakeholders that would result from this initiative:

• A common starting point that allows for greater collaboration among Members;

• A common foundation to lay the groundwork for future collaboration and interoperability initiatives among countries;

• Requirements “categories” that can easily address jurisdiction-specific requirements; and,

• Benefits to vendors that are interested in bidding on these opportunities, by providing them with a list of baseline requirements that they can include in their solutions.

SNOMED International is committed to easing the path for Members and vendors to participate in the ongoing growth of SNOMED CT globally.  Through initiatives such as this, Members can begin building requirements for solutions that not only fit their clinical use cases, but also provide the foundation for future collaboration across borders.

The SNOMED CT Example EMR & EHR Requirements Guide can be accessed from SNOMED International’s Document Library among other useful guides and associated resources.For more information, please contact info@snomed.org.