WHO, IHTSDO Collaborate to Provide Global Interoperability

The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), based in Copenhagen, Denmark announced today a collaborative arrangement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to harmonize WHO classifications and SNOMED CT for the benefit of citizens around the world.

WHO Classifications and SNOMED CT are complementary tools. When used together appropriately, they make it easier to summarize information from individual patients’ health records into aggregate results needed for health policy, health services management, and research.

This new agreement supports the aims of WHO and IHTSDO to enhance health through better health information. Synergies between WHO classifications and SNOMED CT have the potential, through better information, to improve the accuracy, reliability, and quality of health and health care; to eliminate gaps in information; and to control costs.