ISO/TC215 - Health Informatics

About ISO/TC215 

 

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical committee, ISO/TC215, on Health Informatics, has the following scope:

  • Standardization in the field of information for health, and Health Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to achieve compatibility and interoperability between independent systems.
  • Also, to ensure compatibility of data for comparative statistical purposes, (i.e. classifications) to reduce duplication of effort and redundancies.

ISO/TC215 hosts over 20 active Participating countries, including Canada, and a similar number of Observing countries. Furthermore, ISO/TC215 sustains an extensive array of liaisons through its standards efforts, including but not limited to HL7, CEN/TC251 and many others. The technical committee and its working groups (WGs) typically meet twice per year, including a Plenary Meeting in the spring and a Joint Working Group Meeting in the fall, to develop standards and related guidance documents. Ad hoc meetings, often in conjunction with its principal liaison SDO partners, HL7 and CEN, are also frequent. ISO/TC215’s current work program comprises over 100 items which comprehensively cover the contemporary health information standards spectrum. Additional, out-of-cycle meetings are considered as required.

The following diagram illustrates the current structure of the ISO/TC215, and its nine Working Groups.

For more information on the technical committee, ISO/TC215 – Health Informatics, please visit the ISO website.

Canada's Participation on ISO/TC215


Canada is a "Participating member" in this ISO Technical Committee, meaning that it has the obligation to vote on proposed International Standards, Technical Specifications, and Technical Reports, within the ISO approval process for each. A founding member of the committee, Canada has been a strong and consistent contributor to the leadership and delegate expertise of ISO/TC215, and has actively used the technical committee's standards in its local, regional and pan-Canadian health informatics efforts. In addition to providing expertise concerning ballot items, Canada holds several leadership positions within ISO/TC215, including the Convenership and Secretariat of WG1 – Data Structure and WG4 – Security, and the Convenership of WG9 - Standards Development Organizations Harmonization. Canada also provides leadership in the development of numerous work items.

As it is important to have effective communication and information sharing across jurisdictional boundaries, Canada continues to enhance national participation in international standardization efforts. The domestic benefits of Canada's ongoing participation at ISO/TC215 include::

  • leveraging international standards resources; 
  • strengthening the international marketability of Canadian health information system products; 
  • promoting the adoption of existing international standards in Canada; and 
  • ensuring the enhanced compatibility of information system applications produced by multinational vendors.

Working with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), Canada's national member body to ISO, Infoway's Standards Collaborative administers the Canadian delegation to ISO/TC215 and ensures a strong, ongoing Canadian presence at this international forum. The Standards Collaborative also provides the Secretariat for ISO/TC215's Working Group 1, Data Structure on behalf of the SCC. The following is a link to the login page of the ISO/TC215/WG1 members-only site: https://int.scc.ca/forums/int/dispatch.cgi.

The Canadian Advisory Committee


The Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) to ISO/TC215 establishes the Canadian position for all ISO/TC215 voting items. Its responsibilities include:

  • providing Canadian input to ISO/TC215 in a timely and effective manner;
  • establishing expert groups as needed; and
  • ensuring that information regarding Canada's activity in ISO/TC215 is accurately reflected and broadly disseminated.

Infoway administers the Secretariat to the CAC in conjunction with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), Canada's national member body to ISO. More information on the SCC is available from their website: www.scc.ca. Members of the CAC represent key stakeholder groups in the area of health information and health informatics in Canada, and reflect a balance of interest from industry, governments, users and general interest groups. The following is a link to the login page of this domestic, members-only site: https://forums.scc.ca/.

The ISO Constituency


The Infoway Standards Collaborative also hosts the ISO Constituency, which is a broader group of stakeholders interested in contributing to the development of Canadian positions on ISO/TC215 work items. The ISO Constituency forum, which is accessible with an Infoway Passport (click here to learn more about obtaining an Infoway Passport), is available from the following link: http://forums.infoway-inforoute.ca/ISO/.


National Standards of Canada


The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Health Informatics Technical Committee (Z295) has successfully balloted several ISO/TC215 Health Informatics standards for adoption or adaption as National Standards of Canada (NSC). Infoway's Standards Collaborative plays a key role in the adoption or adaptation of ISO/TC215 standards: the Standards Collaborative works with CSA to engage stakeholders in the review of these ISO/TC215 published documents, and in preparing the recommendation of these documents for approval by the SCC as National Standards of Canada.

These recommended international documents are submitted to the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for final approval as NSCs and are then published and available for sale. Their designation includes the prefix: CAN/CSA.

For more information regarding the publication of the documents as National Standards of Canada (CAN/CSA), please contact CSA by email: info@csagroup.org or at their toll free telephone number: 1-800-463-6727.


Standards Collaborative Membership Information


The Standards Collaborative is pleased to introduce its streamlined and consolidated single membership model for health information standards in Canada. This membership should be of interest to individuals and organizations working in the healthcare informatics field as service providers, software vendors, consultants, or government. Members receive services to support and access a full array of ISO/TC215, HL7, SNOMED CT and DICOM standards.


Join the Standards Collaborative today!


Standards Collaborative Member Services


SC members may login for access to member services.

Contact Information


For more information on contributing to ISO/TC215 on behalf of Canada, please contact:

The Infoway Standards Collaborative Infodesk

Toll free #: 1-877-595-3417 or 416-595-3417

standards@infoway-inforoute.ca & normes@infoway-inforoute.ca.