Dedalus to Deliver Solution for Dutch National Terminology Services

Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Data
News
Nictiz is responsible for developing and maintaining national standards for healthcare information exchange and serves as the national release center for SNOMED CT in the Netherlands. To future-proof healthcare in the Netherlands, a National Health Information Strategy was established. As part of this strategy, there arose a need to centralize knowledge and enable users to seamlessly locate and implement data standards. A Secure and Efficient Terminology Server Chantal Schiltmeijer, Technical Implementation Advisor at Nictiz, remarked: "Collaborating with Dedalus to deliver a solution based on our National Terminology Services will significantly promote the adoption of standard terminology across all our healthcare and care settings. It provides us with a secure, reliable, and well-managed environment. The National Terminology Server (NTS) transcends the capabilities of a standard FHIR server, simplifying the utilization of common code systems without requiring extensive development efforts. This is where the 'magic' of this technology truly unfolds." Enabling Consistent Data Exchange The FHIR-compliant terminology server plays a pivotal role in mapping national and local codes, ensuring data consistency when sharing and reusing recorded information. Through the Terminology Service, Nictiz aims to establish a comprehensive "one-stop-shop" for standard terminology in the Netherlands, advancing further towards standardized data and interoperability across diverse healthcare organizations. Achieving Linguistic Unity Nictiz introduced the National Terminology Server (NTS) to facilitate software suppliers and data scientists in maintaining international and national terminology content, such as SNOMED and the Dutch Labcodeset, up-to-date. The NTS streamlines the implementation of standards necessary for achieving a 'unity of language.' Being FHIR® conformant, the Terminology Server ensures that data is captured, shared, and analyzed in a standardized manner. For instance, international terminologies and classifications like SNOMED and LOINC, as well as national terminologies like the NHG tables, are transformed into standardized FHIR resources that can be utilized and shared seamlessly across the healthcare and care ecosystem. Hans Vandewyngaerde, Regional Managing Director International at Dedalus, stated: "We are witnessing healthcare organizations worldwide grappling with the challenge of harmonizing data coded in different ways. We are delighted to bring our expertise in terminology services to the Netherlands and assist them in their vision to maximize the value of the country's healthcare data."