Overview
ISO 13940:2026 – Health informatics - System of concepts to support continuity of care is an international standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard specifies requirements for a system of concepts that facilitate the description, communication, and management of care across both social and clinical domains. Its central aim is to enhance the continuity of care by providing a unified conceptual framework for care provision, supporting interoperability between health and care information systems at local, national, and international levels.
By formalizing the definitions and relationships among care-related concepts, ISO 13940:2026 helps healthcare organizations, professionals, and system developers ensure that vital information follows individuals throughout different stages and settings of care.
Key Topics
ISO 13940:2026 covers crucial aspects of health informatics required for continuity of care, including:
- Core concepts and definitions for describing health and care processes, actors, resources, activities, and events
- Relationships among concepts such as health state, health need, care processes, actors, and resources
- Representation of processes involved in both social and clinical care, focusing on consistency and clarity
- Semantic interoperability across information systems for stronger data exchange and collaboration
- Coverage of multiple dimensions: social care, clinical care, care actors, care activities, events, timelines, and planning
- Support for logical reference models, serving as a common semantic foundation for health and care information systems
- Terms, definitions, and relationships that support effective communication across organizations and disciplines
The standard does not provide instructions on how to perform specific care processes, nor does it apply to research, welfare, or educational contexts.
Applications
ISO 13940:2026 provides practical value for a diverse range of stakeholders in the healthcare and social care sectors:
- Information system developers: Enables development of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems and other IT solutions supporting integrated person-centered care.
- Healthcare providers and organizations: Facilitates consistent documentation and understanding of care processes, improving service delivery and continuity.
- Social care professionals: Supports integration between social care and clinical services by aligning terminology, roles, and activities.
- Policy makers and standards bodies: Lays a conceptual groundwork for regulations and guidance on data exchange and care integration.
- International, national, and local health networks: Standardizes semantic models, making cross-border care collaboration and data sharing more effective.
Typical use cases include:
- Structuring care pathways and care plans for patients with complex needs
- Integrating social determinants of health within clinical workflows
- Clarifying responsibilities among diverse care actors and organizations
- Improving patient safety and outcomes by reducing fragmentation of care
Related Standards
For comprehensive support of health informatics and care continuity, ISO 13940:2026 is related to several important standards:
- ISO 13606 - Health informatics: Electronic health record communication
- ISO/HL7 21731 - Health Level Seven Reference Information Model
- ISO 12967 - Health informatics: Service architecture
- ISO 13943 - Health Informatics: Vocabulary
- ISO/TR 14639 - Health informatics: Capacity-based health informatics benchmarking
These and other health informatics standards ensure that technical, semantic, and organizational interoperability goals are met across the healthcare continuum.
ISO 13940:2026 is an essential resource for advancing effective, interoperable information management that supports continuity of care across modern health and social care systems. By adopting a shared conceptual system, healthcare organizations and system developers can greatly enhance person-centered care, safety, and efficiency.
