Collaboration of German-Speaking Countries

There is close collaboration between BfArM and Austria and Switzerland. E.g. the German language edition of ICD-10, ICD-10-WHO, was published as a common edition of these three countries agreed upon in several editorial meetings.

Switzerland

In addition to ICD-10-WHO the German Modification ICD-10-GM is used in Switzerland. ICD-10-GM has been adopted as it stands for the Reimbursement System for Hospitals in Switzerland, SwissDRG, and translated in French and Italian. The German versions you will find in Downloads. The French and the Italian versions you will find on the website of "Bundesamt für Statistik" of Switzerland.

Austria

ICD-10-WHO is used in Austria as well, not only for cause of death coding but also for the reimbursement of ambulatory and stationary care.

German Translation Group

The German-speaking countries also want to work together on the German translation of SNOMED CT. Supported by SNOMED International, the German Translation Group was founded in Autumn 2020 together with the National Release Centers in Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg and the Medizininformatik Initiative in Germany. The goal is to provide a common translation of SNOMED CT concepts as far as possible. The translation will be "use case based" according to the translation needs in the different countries. Involved are

More information are available in a public area of SNOMED International.

Standardisation

In the communication between various participants in the healthcare system and their respective IT systems (key words: health telematics and eHealth), interoperability is ensured through the consistent use of IT standards and standardised contents. Various standardisation committees are working on the development of national and international standards. BfArM is networked with the respective organisations. One main focus is in the area of medical terminologies and standards.

Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN, German Institute for Standardisation)

The Medical Standards Committee (NAMed) at the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN) works on standards for terminologies, interoperability, pharmaceutical drugs and medical products that reflect the international standards from corresponding committees at CEN and ISO.

HL7 Chapter in Germany

BfArM has for many years worked with the HL7 Chapter in Germany Association (HL7 Deutschland e.V.). This is the platform for exchange with HL7 (Health Level Seven) in the areas of medical glossaries and pharmaceutical standards.

National and international projects

BfArM supports national projects in health telematics. As an expert in medical conceptual systems, BfArM not only pursues standardisation in healthcare, but is also able to exert strategic influence and be involved in development and dissemination of standards thanks to its close cooperation with international authorities such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL).