With New Health IT Standards in Place, HIMSS Completes Tenure as ISO/TC 215 Secretariat

After eight years as the Secretariat for ISO/TC 215, the international technical committee focused on the development of health informatics standards, HIMSS will relinquish its role on June 30, 2011. In addition, HIMSS will step down as administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 215, which is responsible for coordinating U.S. technical experts and developing national positions on committee matters.

In 2003, HIMSS became the Secretariat for the International Organization for Standardization’s Technical Committee 215 on Health Informatics – known as ISO/TC 215

After eight years as the Secretariat for ISO/TC 215, the international technical committee focused on the development of health informatics standards, HIMSS will relinquish its role on June 30, 2011. In addition, HIMSS will step down as administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 215, which is responsible for coordinating U.S. technical experts and developing national positions on committee matters.

During the past eight years, ISO/TC 215 has grown to:
• Represent 32 participating member countries, 20 observers and 39 liaison organizations;
• Develop 89 standards and harmonize 7 standards;
• Initiate 129 projects, now in process; and
• Expand U.S. TAG membership to 13 associations, 5 government agencies, 16 vendors and 5 universities.

The standards developed by ISO/TC 215 interact with all areas of healthcare, but focus primarily on health informatics. The committee meets twice each year, including once in a formal plenary session, where voting takes place (one country – one vote) and resolutions are written determining the direction of the work program, and once in an informal joint working group session.  In completing its responsibilities as the Secretariat, HIMSS successfully convened the May 2011 ISO/TC 215 meeting in Kuopio, Finland, as well as four additional plenary meetings during its eight-years as secretariat.

“The development of health IT standards is a primary focus for HIMSS and for quality and interoperable healthcare delivery,” said Carla Smith, CNM, FHIMSS, Executive Vice President for HIMSS.  “We are honored to have worked with this international standards technical committee and will continue to follow the future standards development and harmonization activities of ISO/TC 215.”

As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was awarded the Secretariat position of ISO/TC 215. In 2003, ANSI delegated the Secretariat to HIMSS, and accredited HIMSS as administrator of the U.S. TAG. Now, ANSI is managing the transition from HIMSS to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the new Secretariat sponsor for ISO/TC 215 and administrator of the U.S. TAG.

“HIMSS has done an exemplary job as Secretariat of ISO/TC 215 and U.S. TAG administrator,” commented Fran Schrotter, senior vice president and COO of ANSI. “On behalf of the U.S. stakeholder community, we thank HIMSS for its many years of leadership, dedication and tireless effort on international health informatics standards.”

About HIMSS:
HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations have offices in Chicago, Washington, DC, Brussels, Singapore, Leipzig, and other locations across the United States. HIMSS represents more than 35,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 520 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, and research initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org.

   

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