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SNOMED International seeks to improve the health of humankind by fostering the development and use of suitable standardized clinical terminologies, notably SNOMED CT, in order to support safe, accurate, and effective exchange of clinical and related health information. The focus is on enabling the implementation of semantically accurate health records that are interoperable.

The purpose of SNOMED International is to develop, maintain, promote and enable the uptake and correct use of its terminology products in health systems, services and products around the world, and undertake any or all activities incidental and conducive to achieving the purpose of the Association for the benefits of the members.

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SNOMED International now has 30 national Members. An updated list of the current members can be found at the SNOMED International web page (http://snomed.org/members/). Members can be either an agency of a national government or another body endorsed by an appropriate national government authority within the country it represents. SNOMED International welcomes new Members.

Members pay a fee, based on national wealth, to SNOMED International which gives them the right to a seat on the General Assembly. SNOMED International does not charge Affiliate Licensees for use of the SNOMED CT International Edition within Member countries. Licensing is also free in the poorest countries and for certain approved public-good uses in other countries. In other cases, low-cost per-institution charges apply to the use of SNOMED CT in operational systems involved in data creation and/or analysis. All use of SNOMED CT is subject to the acceptance of the terms of the SNOMED CT Affiliate License agreement (http://snomed.org/license) and the terms of sublicenses issued to end-user organizations by Affiliate Licensees. Members may also impose additional conditions on use of SNOMED CT within their countries. For example, a Member may require licensees to support and include its National Extension in its implementations.

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The Management Board is appointed by the General Assembly. Members have the opportunity to nominate delegates to the Board. The Management Board directs the Association and has the responsibility for key business decisions. It has at least three face-to-face meetings per year with teleconferences between these meetings.

The Management Board also appoints the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who has day-to-day responsibility for running the organization. A Management Team, with members each responsible for a particular line of business, supports the CEO and directs the work or additional employees.

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Each Member is entitled to choose a representative to the   (MF). The MF acts as an advisory body to the Management Board.

The MF is also a means for optimizing the collaboration and coordination among Member countries provides a means for Members to have discussions on specific Member issues. Moreover, the MF facilitates contact and communication between countries with similar foundations, needs, priorities, etc. It is recommended that each Member gets involved with and makes use of the MF.

The MF can raise issues of concern to the Management Board and is asked by the Management Board for specific feedback on items. The MF is the conduit for communicating widely on consultations that SNOMED International may undertake. These consultations may include specific issues related to SNOMED CT content or SNOMED International documents, products and services. The MF is also a key player in determining which SNOMED International work items should be undertaken and prioritized.

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Special Interest Groups (SIGs) also provide advice issues related to their specific areas relevant to the strategic direction and resulting specific work areas of IHTSDO, its Members and the Community of Practice.

The SIGs are usually open to anyone who is interested in the specific topic area. Most of these groups are Clinical Professional SIGs that cover particular clinical specialties and healthcare disciplines (e.g. nursing, pathology, etc.). Other SIGs may focus on particular areas of activity such as addressing particular implementation challenges. More information about SIGs can be found at http://snomed.org/sig. 

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Confluence is an online forum/space where the people within SNOMED International Governance and Advisory Bodies can communicate and share information. Confluence facilitates a range of types of communications, including written discussions, meeting announcements and document sharing.

Members, Affiliates, or other interested parties can gain access to the Collaborative Space to learn more about IHTSDO, SNOMED CT, or to participate in a Special Interest Group. More information about Confluence is available at https://confluence.ihtsdotools.org/.

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