Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards Certificate Program

hts cert iw — Learn the standardized language needed to share patient records in the growing world of web-based health communications.

^{Prior to May 1st, 2024 the certificate was known as the Health Terminology Standards Certificate. The name has changed but the program remains the same.}

Certificate Information Session

To learn more about the certificate program, we invite you to watch the video recording of our Information Session: recording available here.

About the program

If you work in the healthcare industry and are involved with or have an interest in health terminologies and standards, interoperable electronic health record, and clinical coding and classification, then this certificate is for you. This program is intended to meet national and international needs for best practices in controlled terminologies and interoperability standards used in healthcare

We need home-grown terminology experts to work on connecting the Canadian health care system. This program will help meet that need.
—Kelly Davison MN, MSc, RN, CPMHN(C), CTSS, Vancouver

The certificate program in Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards is 1-year, part-time program with four courses done through weekly online evening classes and a virtual workshop.

Once you have completed this program, you will:

be eligible for the Canadian College of Health Information Management Certified Terminology Standards Specialist (CTSS) credential.
acquire knowledge and skills in terminology and interoperability standards used in health care
acquire knowledge and skills in the adoption and management of CT standards in health care organizations, spanning the entire CT lifecycle
apply knowledge and skills in the role, adoption and implementation of interoperability standards in organizations/jurisdictions, with an emphasis on the appropriate use of CTs in the standards and solution development lifecycles
conduct a terminology-related field project under the supervision of a faculty member in order to demonstrate your competencies in the use of CTs in health care organizations

There are two streams in the Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards Certificate program:

Admission requirements differ depending on the stream. But otherwise the streams are the same in terms of courses, time commitment, and tuition.

If you have additional questions about the streams, please contact:

Simon Minshall, Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards Certificate Coordinator:

htscoord@uvic.ca

What are the differences between the Graduate and Professional streams?

Graduate Certificate in Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards

The Graduate Certificate in Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards is an academic credit program for those who have completed a 4-year bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from an institution recognized by UVic or if you have a health related diploma and extensive relevant work experience. Courses taken for academic credit may be used in future graduate programs of study.

Application deadlines:

September entry is June 1.

January entry is October 1

For application information, click here.

For tuition fees, click here.

Professional Micro-certificate in Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards

The Professional Micro-certificate in Health Terminology and Interoperability Standards is a non-credit program for working professionals who have a health related diploma and at least two years of relevant work experience. The Micro-certificate is offered in partnership with the University of Victoria’s Division of Continuing Studies.