Experiences Translating and Introducing ISO 13940 ContSys in Estonia: Challenges and Perspectives

To ensure continuity of care, the care processes must become inter-connectable. This involves coordinating clear communication between a wide range of healthcare stakeholders, from policy-makers to software developers. Currently, communication is hindered by a lack of mutual understanding of the care processes. To facilitate mutual understanding, we have translated ISO 13940 A System of Concepts to Support Continuity of Care (ContSys) into Estonian. The ContSys standard defines the generic concepts for a common understanding of care processes. It is a significant standard used by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to harmonize its healthcare informatics standards, including the International Patient Summary. A systematic translation is the first step in implementing the standard in Estonia. This article aims to share our experiences and fill the gap in the literature, as no literature exists on translating and implementing ContSys. Discussions with stakeholders during the translation confirmed the lack of a common understanding of the core concepts. Our main contribution to the translation method is the addition of country-specific notes to clarify the generic concepts for Estonian stakeholders and a corresponding mapping method to produce these notes.