Target Stakeholders
Overview
The SNOMED CT Implementation Maturity Framework (IMF) is designed to support a multi-stakeholder ecosystem, recognizing that successful implementation of SNOMED CT depends on coordinated efforts across national bodies, healthcare providers, and technology vendors.
The framework defines three primary stakeholder groups, each with distinct roles, responsibilities, and maturity assessment perspectives:
Members (National Release Centers)
User Organizations (software consumers)
Vendors (software providers)
While all stakeholders are assessed across the same domains and maturity levels, the focus of assessment differs depending on the stakeholder type.
For vendors, the IMF assesses the maturity of individual software products or platforms, rather than the organization as a whole.
Relationship Between Stakeholders
The IMF reflects a connected ecosystem model, where each stakeholder group depends on the others:
Members provide governance, standards, and infrastructure
Vendors develop products that implement those standards
User Organizations deploy and use those products in real-world care settings
This relationship can be summarized as:
Members
Enable
National systems and governance
Vendors
Build
Individual products and platforms
User Organizations
Use
Organizational implementation and workflows
Effective SNOMED CT implementation requires alignment across all three groups.
Stakeholder Roles
Members (National Release Centers)
Members are typically national or regional organizations responsible for governance and stewardship of SNOMED CT within a country or jurisdiction.
Key Responsibilities
Define national strategy and policy
Manage SNOMED CT licensing and distribution
Develop and maintain national extensions
Support interoperability at a national level
Provide guidance and support to implementers
Assessment Focus
Assessment focuses on national capabilities, including governance structures, infrastructure, and adoption across the healthcare system.
Role in the Ecosystem
Members enable the environment in which SNOMED CT can be adopted and used consistently across healthcare systems.
User Organizations (Software Consumers)
User Organizations include healthcare providers and other entities that use SNOMED CT in clinical and operational workflows.
Key Responsibilities
Implement SNOMED CT within clinical systems
Support structured clinical documentation
Ensure consistent and accurate coding practices
Enable data-driven clinical decision-making
Participate in interoperability initiatives
Assessment Focus
Assessment focuses on organizational implementation, including system integration, clinical usage, and workforce capability.
Role in the Ecosystem
User Organizations deliver care and generate clinical data, realizing the practical value of SNOMED CT.
Vendors (Software Providers)
Vendors are organizations that develop and maintain software systems that enable SNOMED CT use, such as electronic health records (EHRs), terminology services, and interoperability platforms.
Key Responsibilities
Integrate SNOMED CT into products and platforms
Provide terminology services and tooling
Support interoperability standards (e.g., FHIR)
Enable usability within clinical workflows
Maintain compliance with SNOMED CT licensing
Assessment Focus
While vendors are a key stakeholder group, the IMF assesses the maturity of individual products, platforms, or solutions, rather than the vendor organization as a whole.
This means that:
Different products from the same vendor may have different maturity levels
Assessment focuses on product capabilities, such as terminology integration, interoperability, and usability
Results reflect the real-world functionality available to user organizations
Role in the Ecosystem
Vendors build the tools and infrastructure that make SNOMED CT usable and scalable across healthcare systems.
Shared Responsibilities
Although roles differ, all stakeholders share common responsibilities:
Supporting semantic interoperability
Ensuring high quality, structured clinical data
Aligning with standards and best practices
Contributing to continuous improvement
Collaboration between stakeholders is essential to achieve end-to-end maturity.
Collaboration and Alignment
Achieving higher levels of maturity requires active collaboration between stakeholders.
Examples include:
Members working with vendors to define national requirements
Vendors delivering product capabilities aligned with standards
User organizations providing feedback to improve systems and policies
A lack of alignment between stakeholders can limit progress, even if individual components are mature in isolation.
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