Governance and Advisory

IHTSDO is a membership organization, and our Members represent countries or other approved territories. More specifically, our Members are national government agencies or other bodies that the national government has deemed suitable and whose responsibilities and authorities appropriately include establishing, monitoring, promoting or regulating concept-based systems of clinical terminology for that Territory.

Governance

Each Member is entitled to be represented by an individual in the IHTSDO General Assembly.  The General Assembly is the highest authority of the organization and can make binding decisions regarding all matters.

The Management Board has overall responsibility for the management and direction of IHTSDO. The Management Board, and each Director individually, has a duty to act in a manner which it or she reasonably believes is in the best interests of the Association. Though elected by the General Assembly, Management Board Directors do not represent their countries.

Advisory

The Member Forum is an advisory body to the organization, whose role is to facilitate collaboration and cooperation between the Members, provide Member priorities for all new and proposed IHTSDO projects and products, and promote learning from shared experiences. It promotes consultation and communication at an operational level between the Association and Members. Member Forum representatives will ideally be knowledgeable about all operational and business aspects of the Member’s national release center and have open communications channels with their General Assembly Representative. Structurally the Member Forum advises the Management Board, but it also has strong ties to the working levels of the organization

The Vendor Liaison Forum also advises the Management Board and allows vendors to provide input into SNOMED CT development, release and implementation. 

Advisory Groups (AGs) conduct specific activities that contribute to the fulfillment of the Management Team’s responsibilities and the organisation’s mandate. The Advisory Groups are chaired by Management Team members and are agile in nature, given the changing needs and direction of the organisation. 

Photo

(Left to right)
Back: Jorge Forcella (GA), Kathy Farndon (MB), Jamie Ferguson (MB), Dennis Giokas (GA), Duncan McNeil (MB), David Bunker (MB), Don Sweete (IHTSDO CEO), Ilan Zelingher (MB)

Middle: Md Khadzir Sheikh Ahmad (GA), Alastair Kenworthy (MF), John van Beek (MB), Ian Arrowsmith (MB), Manuel Pérez Vallina (MB), Jeremy Thorp (MB)

Front: Lotti Barlow (MF), Mari Asser (GA), Kate Ebrill (GA), Lies van Gennip (GA), Sunil Sharma (GA)