London, United Kingdom, June 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SNOMED International and the National Health Information Center (NHIC) are pleased to announce that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently joined as the organization’s thirty-ninth Member.

The NHIC has been established pursuant to the Saudi royal decree no. 333 to be linked with health services and connected to an electronic network of health information with the Ministry of Health, medical services in the military bodies, university hospitals and other relevant government agencies. It is the vision of the Center to serve as the core axis of smart, safe and reliable digital information and healthcare services in the Kingdom and in doing so will provide, organize and exchange health information electronically among bodies of health sectors and other relevant bodies.

Through Membership in SNOMED International, the Kingdom and NHIC have committed support for structured terminology to address national tasks to standardize clinical terminology, names and definitions used in all health information systems and methods of collection. With the Kingdom’s strategic aims to support transformation of electronic healthcare services along with facilitating the circulation of health data and information electronically safely, SNOMED CT is a valuable tool to be used throughout the country.

SNOMED CT is the world’s most comprehensive health terminology. Founded in 2007 by nine charter nations, SNOMED International is a not-for-profit, member-owned and driven international organization. The addition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has grown the organization’s Membership to thirty-nine countries and territories across five continents and enables management and use SNOMED CT and other related products. Membership also extends to participation on the General Assembly, a critical governance role which includes responsibility for approval of the organization's budget and strategy.

“The Kingdom’s Membership in SNOMED International will extend the footprint of clinical terminology in place in hospital and health information systems within Saudi Arabia.  In line with the launch of the Kingdom’s healthcare transformation strategy and Saudi’s 2030 Vision, investment in digital health infrastructure such as clinical terminology standards will contribute to accomplishing these goals” says SNOMED International CEO, Don Sweete.

“SNOMED CT is internationally recognized as a powerful terminology for healthcare. Through our Membership in SNOMED International we are certain we can increase patient safety in the kingdom by eliminating errors occurring due to misinterpreted data, while fulfilling our National E- Health Strategy aligned with the Kingdom’s healthcare transformation strategy and 2030 Vision” says the NHIC’s General Director.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes the third country within the Middle East region to join SNOMED International, further extending the SNOMED CT use, implementation experience and collaboration opportunities for the area.

To learn more about the National Health Information Center visit https://nhic.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx.