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A requirement has arisen for a Contractor/Consultant specializing in Clinical/Medical Technical Writing, to work within the Content and Mapping Team of SNOMED International. This position will work with the Head of Terminology and the Editorial Lead to ensure that editorial policy and rules are kept up to date, well understood, written clearly, organised logically and are simple to navigate within the structure of the SNOMED Editorial Guide. It is envisaged the position will be for a period of 6-8 months from the starting point. Timing, duration of contract, and specific deliverables will be agreed with the successful contractor prior to commencement of work.

*There may be other initiatives dependent on resource availability and funding

Applications are now sought from suitably qualified Contractors/Consultants.

Due to the locations of the Head of Terminology and Content and Mapping - Executive lead, the key stakeholders for this work, who reside in West Coast USA and Eastern Canada respectively, candidates must live in a time zone where they are able to communicate daily with these stakeholders at a time which does not necessitate working at unsociable hours for either the candidate or the stakeholders.

Please forward your resume and cover letter highlighting why you believe you are able to provide the services (as per the attached Job Description below) to jobs@snomed.org

The role is required asap and applications will close Friday 21st April at 17:00 UTC.

Expo 2017 brings the world’s greatest thinkers together to discuss the global language of healthcare: SNOMED CT. The 2017 conference programme focuses the conversation on your experiences, achievements and enhancements of SNOMED CT.

Submit your paper and poster ideas on the following themes today!

  • SNOMED in Action
    Your practical, first-hand experiences using SNOMED CT in clinical solutions
  • Enhancing Clinical Practice using SNOMED CT
    The clinical achievements that have been made possible with SNOMED CT
  • Leveraging SNOMED CT
    Your developments and enhancements of the SNOMED CT product

Read more about conference themes and review submission guidelines.

Submissions Close Friday 5th May 2017 (21:00 UTC)

Please contact snomedctexpo@snomed.org if you require any assistance.

SNOMED CT Expo 2017 is located in the heart of Europe. Bratislava, Slovakia follows successful events in New Zealand, Sydney, Stockholm, Washington DC, Amsterdam and Montevideo. Conference delegates include local and international leading experts, as well as those who are newer to the SNOMED CT community and health terminology.

Dear SNOMED International Community of Practice, 

 We are please to announce that confirmed schedule for SNOMED International's April 2017 Business Meeting is now available online here:


The link above also contains useful advice about booking your hotel accommodation, particularly important as we are in the unusual situation of having our Sunday sessions in a different area of London to the weekday meetings (an inconvenience caused by the London Marathon running along the Thames right next to the Amba Hotel in Charing Cross).
The Sunday 23rd part of the agenda is therefore being held at the Novotel Paddington. This hotel is right near Paddington station, so is a very easy transfer for those arriving via Heathrow.
Registration for the event should be open by the end of this month, but please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.
Best wishes,
Fleur McBriar, on behalf of the Corporate Services Team

SNOMED International is pleased to announce the publication of version 1.2 of the Expression Constraint Language at http://snomed.org/ecl.

The Expression Constraint Language is a formal syntax for representing computable rules used to define sets of clinical meanings. Expression constraints can be used to define intensional reference sets, to query SNOMED CT data, and to restrict the valid values in an information model.

ECL version 1.2 incorporates updates that were requested by implementers of the language, including:

  • The ability for the memberOf function to be applied to a set of reference set concepts defined using an expression constraint; and
  • A correction to the definition of numericValue to allow negative decimal values to be fully supported.

The SNOMED CT MRCM represents the rules in the SNOMED CT concept model in a form that can be read by a computer and applied to test that concept definitions and expressions comply with these rules. The MRCM may be used for a variety of purposes, including the authoring and validation of SNOMED CT concepts, expressions, expression constraints and queries, natural language processing (NLP) and binding terminology to information models to support querying and interoperability. For more information about the MRCM, please visit http://snomed.org/mrcm.

Members can download the MRCM Beta release package via the MLDS distribution site. Others may request access by contacting the Release Management Team by email (info@snomed.org), with the subject "Release Management Team - MRCM Beta access request". The SNOMED CT MRCM Beta release notes are available here. Please note that the Beta release package is distributed for evaluation purposes only. It must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. Subject to feedback on the Beta release, the MRCM data will be included in the July 2017 SNOMED CT International Release. 

To comment on the MRCM Beta release, please click on the Feedback button at the bottom of this MRCM page. All feedback must be submitted by Friday 31st March 2017.

Visit the SNOMED International at Booth #4088 to learn more about how clinical terminology is contributing to healthcare interoperability globally. Our team is eager to share with you exciting new partnerships and initiatives that will leverage the power of standards-based healthcare language.

Check in here for the SNOMED International Booth and Vendor Meeting Schedule.

Here’s the Lineup of SNOMED International Presentations at HIMSS17:

Monday February 20th, 2017:

  • 10:30am SNOMED International Software, Rory Davidson, Location: BOOTH #4088
  • 2:30pm High Value Implementations, Peter Hendler, Location: BOOTH #4088

Tuesday February 21st, 2017:

  • 10:30am Presentation by Jamie Ferguson, Location: BOOTH #4088
  • 1:00pm SNOMED and HL7 Working Together, Location: BOOTH #4088
  • 2:30pm Improving Data Documentation for Chronic Disease Reporting Using SNOMED CT, Location: BOOTH #4088
  • 5:30pm Pharmacy HIT Collaborative Medication – Related eCare Plan Meeting,
    Location: W240D (A non-SNOMED International organized event)

Wednesday February 22nd, 2017:

  • 10:30am SNOMED CT as a Component of EHR Systems, Location: BOOTH #4088
  • 1:30pm Olympic Healthcare Interoperability Initiative, BOOTH #9000
    (A non-SNOMED International organized event)

Thursday February 23rd, 2017:

  • 12:00pm Enabling Advanced Analytics with Clinical Terminology, Location: W207C

Participating Remotely?
Join in the Conversation @SnomedCT and #snomedct

 

Send on behalf of the GA Chair, MB Chair and CEO...

To all staff, stakeholders and Members of IHTSDO:

As you may know, in April 2016 it was decided to investigate whether the governance structure of IHTSDO needed revision as a result of the rapid growth of the organisation. The General Assembly, Management Board and Management Team, collectively agreed it was timely to commission external experts to review and advise us on our governance structures. We informed you of the progress in this process last August and in the October meeting in Wellington. We wish to inform you on the results of the process and resulting MB recruitment process.

Based on the external review report that was received in August, a governance review committee comprised of members of the General Assembly, Management Board and Management Team considered options to position the organisation for growth.   The review committee has agreed that the organisation embark on a Management Board renewal process to coincide with its move to the United Kingdom.  All members of the current Management Board and the Executive of the General Assembly supported the review committee proposal that SNOMED International adopt best governance practice and move to a seven person Management Board.

The General Assembly has therefore invited current Management Board members to stand down. All current Management Board members may be eligible and are indeed encouraged to apply for the seven positions available on the new Board.

The Management Board has the legal and oversight responsibility for the management of SNOMED International. The terms of the appointments to the Management Board will be staggered with the longest term being three years and the shortest being one year.  This will ensure continuity of experience in the Management Board into the future.

SNOMED International is seeking individuals with varying skills/abilities and experience.  The Management Board’s skills matrix and its independence policy areattached for  information.

Each year the Management Board meets face-to-face at least three times and holds at least three additional teleconferences. Face-to-face meeting locations are London (UK) and a variety of other locations around the world. The GA Executive is invited to take part in all MB meetings as observers.

The Management Board are non-executive Director positions and carry legal responsibility for the governance of the organisation.   By law, the application criteria require the applicant to provide data on their personal experience and statutory declarations relating to financial status i.e. that they are not disqualified or an undischarged bankrupt etc. Further information on the requirements can be found at https://ihtsdo.freshdesk.com/solution/articles/4000096705-applications-for-positions-on-the-snomed-international-management-board, which is accessible by clicking on FAQ at the top of any page of the www.snomed.org website.

The call for nominations of the new slate of board members will begin on February 3rd.

If anyone has questions please contact Don Sweete, Chief Executive Officer (dsw@snomed.org).

With kind regards,

Stewart Jessamine, Chair General Assembly
Jamie Ferguson, Chair Management Board
Don Sweete, CEO

SNOMED International is looking to recruit a Finance Manager to work closely with the Finance and Corporate Services – Executive Lead to plan, control and coordinate customer focused management and financial accounting of our International Organisation.

To download a full job description, please click here.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward your resume and a covering letter detailing why you feel you would be suitable for this role, for the attention of Cameron Roberts, Cameron@platinumrecruits.co.uk. Please do not apply directly to SNOMED International.

If you have any queries, or require further detail, please direct these through this email address also. Applications not presented via this channel may be rejected.

This role will operate at Band B – Professional, and will be remunerated accordingly. 

We are excited to announce that as of January 1, 2017 we have adopted the trading name of SNOMED International and moved our headquarters to London.

In the ten years since IHTSDO was established in 2007 we have grown from nine to thirty Members, and over 5,000 individual and organization Affiliates. Changing our name to SNOMED International reflects the organization’s focus on our global product SNOMED CT, and our commitment to determining international healthcare terminology standards and engaging with the clinical and vendor communities to incorporate SNOMED CT into healthcare information systems across the world.

“The last ten years have seen great advances in capturing clinical documentation digitally, integrating electronic health record systems, and using global healthcare data,” said SNOMED International Management Board Chair Jamie Ferguson. “SNOMED CT has been instrumental in the adoption of a common global language that allows for the exchange and analysis of healthcare information for the benefit of patients, clinicians and health policy makers.”

“Changing our trading name and moving our headquarters to London is an important step in the evolution of our organization,” said CEO Don Sweete. “The coming years hold exceptional promise for SNOMED International as we further increase our global presence and expand into some exciting new areas like genomics.”

Although the new UK entity is officially operating from January 1, there are still a few steps to go through to formally wind down the Danish entity. There is also still some work to do to move our documentation to the new templates with the trading name of SNOMED International. It has been quite a journey and we appreciate the support and patience of the SNOMED CT Community as we complete the transition. 

IHTSDO Newsletter: Q4 2016

IHTSDO's Q4 2016 Newsletter is now available for download: 

IHTSDO seeks to fill a new full-time role of Head of Communication. 

 This individual will work with stakeholders both internal and external, to raise the profile of the Organisation and its strategic priorities; to raise awareness of its products, particularly SNOMED CT, through conferences, media, social media and marketing activities and to support senior management in their efforts to engage with external organisations, suppliers, vendors, associations and professional bodies to further the understanding of the benefits of the products we produce and the work we do globally; to make SNOMED CT the lingua franca within clinical documentation.

The role will also focus on enhancing internal communication, developing an understanding and awareness of internal communication needs; initiating, developing and overseeing communications initiatives including social media and content generation; and working with members of the Management Team to improve the flow of information to and from our Member Countries, vendors and suppliers and to streamline methods of communication such that there is a single, coordinated, message through all lines of communication.

Please click here to download the full job description.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward your resume and a covering letter detailing why you feel you would be suitable for this role, to jobs@ihtsdo.org. If you have any queries, or require further detail, please direct these through this email address also. Applications not presented via this channel may be rejected.

This role will operate at Band C – Management, and will be remunerated accordingly. Applications for this position will close Friday 9th December at 17:00 GMT.

Interviews will take place Wednesday 21st December from 12:00 GMT. If you would have an issue with being available on this date, could you please confirm in your application.

 


Thanks for attending! 

Thank you to all who attended the recent SNOMED CT Expo in Wellington, NZ. We had over 360 delegates and a sold-out exhibit floor. Attendees soaked up the SNOMED CT knowledge from inspiring plenary speakers and informative presentations across multiple tracks. Networking opportunities abounded and there was a great buzz in the air.

Video Presentations
Whether you missed some of the presentations, want to watch them again or weren't able to attend the Expo at all you can access all the videos here (you will need to enter your name and email, but you do not have to be a registered conference delegate). Slides and posters for some presentations are also available for download the Expo's Confluence space here.

See you next year!
Next year's Expo is back in Europe in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Located 40km from Vienna on the River Danube, Bratislava is old world charm meets innovation. Sign up for our email list to be the first to hear about the latest developments for the 2017 Expo. 


IHTSDO would like to announce the publication of version 1.1 of the Expression Constraint Language (ECL).
ECL version 1.1 represents a minor update to the ECL v1.0 that was published in 2015, and is completely backwardly compatible with this prior version.
The updates were made to incorporate a few additional features that were requested by implementers of the language, including:
  • Two new operators ‘childOf’ and ‘parentOf’ to support querying immediate children and immediate parents of a concept;
  • The ability to add comments within the text of an expression constraint;
  • A new 'dot notation' to refer to the value of an attribute of a concept or expression;
  • The ability for a constraint operator to be applied to a nested expression constraint;
  • Additional optional brackets around subexpressions; and
  • The non-normative syntax (previously named the ‘Full Syntax’) has been renamed the ‘Long Syntax’.

The updated version 1.1 of the Expression Constraint Language specification is now available at http://snomed.org/ecl.

The Machine Readable Concept Model (MRCM) represents the rules of the SNOMED CT concept model in a form that can be read by a computer and applied to test that concept definitions and expressions comply. The MRCM may be used for a variety of purposes, including the authoring and validation of SNOMED CT concepts, expressions, expression constraints and queries, Natural Language Processing and terminology binding to support semantic interoperability.

The draft SNOMED CT MRCM Specification is now available for your review at http://snomed.org/mrcm. This document presents the proposed design of the SNOMED CT MRCM, including the reference sets and attributes used to represent and distribute it. It also describes the background, use cases, requirements, logical design and design considerations, and is accompanied by a preview of the 20170131 SNOMED CT MRCM (represented using the proposed design).

Please submit all comments, via the feedback link at the bottom of each page, by Tuesday 8th November 2016.

Dear IHTSDO Community of Practice members,

The forthcoming IHTSDO October Business Meeting and SNOMED CT Expo 2016 in Wellington is set to be an exciting conference that breaks a lot of new ground! We hope to see as many of our community members as possible there, and so we would like to remind everyone that registration for both events is compulsory for all in-person attendees, and it will close at 23:00 UTC on Sunday 16th October 2016.

This deadline will be strictly upheld and no onsite registrations are available, so please make sure you complete both processes if you plan to attend in person. Remote attendance (via GoToMeeting) does not require registration. 

Details of how to register can be found via the following links:

October 2016 Business Meeting

SNOMED CT Expo 2016

We hope to see you in Wellington!

Best wishes,

The IHTSDO Events Team