How can European policy recommendations inform use of standardized terminologies in clinical information systems in Sweden and Denmark

Semantic interoperability in health requires the use of standardized clinical terminologies and classifications. However, many such standards exist, and deciding on which terminologies to implement, and how to implement them has proven difficult [13]. These difficulties have been acknowledged on the European level. Consequently, the Horizon2020 research project ASSESS CT aims to investigate the fitness of the international clinical terminology SNOMED CT as a potential standard for large scale eHealth deployments in the EU. The investigation includes comparison of SNOMED CT to other standardized clinical terminologies and local terminologies. This comparison is done to be able to make fair recommendations to the European Commission about standardized terminology adoption in Europe. Representatives from both Sweden and Denmark participate in ASSESS CT, and data have been collected from Danish and Swedish stakeholders to represent current terminology experiences, opinions and expectations. One of these data collection methods have been two focus group interviews (one Swedish and one Danish) [4] plus a common follow-up session conducted in April 2015. The aim of the focus groups was to gather expert opinions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding the European views on current and future terminology use in the health care sector, with a special focus on the role of SNOMED CT.