ISO 13940-2015 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 13940:2015 — Health informatics — System of concepts to support continuity of care (commonly known as "ContSys"). The standard defines a coherent system of high‑level concepts and their relationships to support semantic interoperability and the continuity of care across clinical, management and resource perspectives. It provides conceptual definitions and a process‑oriented view to give consistent meaning and context to health information without prescribing implementation formats or data models.

Abstract

ISO 13940:2015 (ContSys) specifies a system of concepts for different aspects of healthcare provision to support continuity of care. It links a generic healthcare/clinical process model with comprehensive concept definitions for clinical activities, planning, time, responsibilities and information management. The standard is intended for use at the conceptual level — as a common vocabulary and framework to inform reference models, information systems and specifications that require unambiguous meaning for structured healthcare information.

General information

• Status: Published (active international standard).
• Publication date: 16 December 2015.
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 35.240.80 (IT applications in healthcare technology).
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (ISO 13940:2015).
• Number of pages: 152 pages.

Scope

ISO 13940:2015 defines a conceptual system to describe and relate the main concepts needed to support continuity of care. It covers conceptual definitions across clinical processes, care planning, responsibilities, time, resources and information management. The standard is explicitly conceptual: it does not define implementation models, data formats, document structures or technical exchange protocols. Its purpose is to provide a stable, shared vocabulary and process viewpoint that can be used as the basis for logical reference models, information systems and interoperable specifications.

Key topics and requirements

• Provision of a structured concept system (ContSys) for continuity of care and related terminology.
• Definitions and models for subjects of care, healthcare actors, roles and responsibilities.
• Process‑oriented view of healthcare: clinical processes, management and support processes.
• Concepts for care planning, interventions, goals, outcomes and monitoring.
• Time and temporal relationships relevant to care episodes and processes.
• Information management concepts to give context to health data and enable semantic interoperability.
• Conformance principles: use of recognised concept names, application of normative definitions, and rules for specialisation and multiplicities.
• Guidance on using the conceptual system as the basis for reference models, information systems and interoperability specifications while avoiding implementation details.
• Limitations and exclusions: does not provide data models, document formats or technical messaging standards.

Typical use and users

Typical users include health informaticians, standards developers, national e‑health programmes, EHR and health IT architects, software vendors, clinical governance bodies and researchers. Common uses are: aligning national/regional information models to a shared conceptual vocabulary; guiding the design of care plans and clinical workflows; informing mappings between clinical terminologies and technical exchange specifications; and providing a basis for semantic interoperability initiatives across care settings.

Related standards

ISO 13940 is complementary to and often used alongside other health informatics standards and models, for example EN ISO 13940 (European adoption), ISO 13606 (Electronic health record communication), ISO 18308 (requirements for EHR architecture), openEHR and HL7 clinical/document standards such as CDA. It is also referenced by a range of national e‑health efforts and clinical modelling initiatives that require a stable conceptual foundation for continuity of care.

Keywords

ContSys, continuity of care, concept system, semantic interoperability, care plan, clinical process, information management, conformance, ISO 13940:2015, health informatics.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 13940:2015 (ContSys) is an international standard that defines a system of high‑level concepts and relationships to support continuity of care and semantic interoperability in health informatics.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers conceptual definitions and a process‑oriented framework for clinical, management and resource aspects of healthcare — including actors, responsibilities, care planning, time and information management — at the conceptual (not implementation) level.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Health informaticians, standards bodies, EHR architects and vendors, national/regional e‑health programmes, clinical modelling teams and researchers use it to establish a common conceptual vocabulary and to guide interoperable system design.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The published edition is ISO 13940:2015 (published 16 December 2015) and remains the baseline international standard. Work to revise or update the standard has been undertaken in ISO committees; users should check the issuing standards body for the latest revision status if they require the most current development updates.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: ISO 13940 is a standalone conceptual system (often called ContSys) but it is used in conjunction with many other ISO/CEN and international health informatics standards (for example ISO 13606, ISO 18308, EN ISO 13940, and clinical/document standards such as HL7 CDA and openEHR reference models) to achieve practical interoperability.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Continuity of care, ContSys, concept system, semantic interoperability, care plan, clinical process, information viewpoint, conformance, ISO 13940.