Country / Region
EMEA
Tags
Collaboration, EHDS (European Health Data Space), Implementation, Mapping, Tooling
As Europe progresses with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation implementation, Cyprus is actively aligning its healthcare data systems with EU standards. A primary focus is the integration of SNOMED CT, which aims to unify medical coding and enable semantic interoperability. This foundational work is crucial for supporting the national EHR implementation in progress,cross-border healthcare, data-driven research and AI applications, and enhancing healthcare services.
This presentation will detail Cyprus's progress, highlight the vital role of SNOMED CT, and discuss the challenges and opportunities involved in preparing for the National eHealth Law and the EHDS Regulation compliance. Our efforts are positioning Cyprus for active participation in a more connected, secure, and innovative European health data space environment.
Description
The implementation of SNOMED CT in Cyprus is a strategic move to boost semantic interoperability across our national health information system subject to a decision for adoption by all involved stakeholders. Our main goal is to enable both the primary and secondary use of health data, as envisioned by the EHDS—supporting healthcare delivery and continuity of care (primary use), as well as clinical research, public health monitoring, health system planning, and policy development (secondary use).
Scope
We chose SNOMED CT because it's essential for achieving our goals of detailed, structured clinical documentation, interoperability, and the secondary use of data—all key to the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
SNOMED CT is already widely adopted across Europe, and it comes with mapping tools that make it easier to integrate with our current systems like ICD-10. This helps smooth the transition from our fragmented coding environment to a standardized, research-ready health data ecosystem.
How SNOMED CT will be used
Cyprus's healthcare system currently grapples with a mix of coding systems like ICD-10, LOINC, ICPC, CPT-4 for reimbursement, and a lot of free-text entries. This patchwork makes sharing, integrating, and reusing data a real challenge. SNOMED CT is our answer to this fragmentation. We're adopting it to bring in a comprehensive, standardized clinical terminology that will capture detailed clinical content consistently right at the point of care.
Our implementation plan focuses on several key areas:
* Mapping and aligning our existing coding systems with SNOMED CT. This will allow for smooth translation and integration of all our clinical data.
* Developing national governance and technical infrastructure to fully support how we use, maintain, and share SNOMED CT across the system.
* Facilitating structured data capture in electronic health records (EHRs). This is vital for collecting real-world data and enabling its future use.
* Enabling the secondary use of data for national and EU-level research projects, epidemiological studies, and data analytics, all while aligning with the goals of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation.
Ultimately, bringing SNOMED CT on board will be a cornerstone of Cyprus's efforts to build a robust, interoperable, and research-ready health data ecosystem. This move will serve both our national healthcare priorities and the wider European digital health objectives.
Why SNOMED CT will be used
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