Inside Australia’s 20-Year Interoperability Journey with SNOMED CT

**Inside Australia’s 20-Year Interoperability Journey with SNOMED CT**   **Episode 10: Show Notes** Australia has been working to build a more connected digital health ecosystem for nearly two decades, with interoperability at the centre of its approach. As one of SNOMED International’s founding members, Australia has developed a range of strategies, standards, and initiatives designed to help health information flow safely and seamlessly across care settings. In this episode, host Kelly Kuru is joined by Peter O'Halloran, Chief Digital Officer at the Australian Digital Health Agency, which is hosting SNOMED CT Expo 2026 in Sydney, Australia, from October 21-23, 2026. Together, they discuss Australia's digital health ecosystem, the implementation maturity across acute and primary care sectors, and how foundational strategies such as the National Digital Health Strategy (2023–2028) drive shared commitment. Peter also shares insights on the role of SNOMED CT in ensuring patient safety, the success of Australia's Sparked FHIR accelerator, and what attendees can expect from the upcoming SNOMED CT Expo in Sydney.  **Key Points From This Episode:**  •   \[00:36] Intro to Peter O’Halloran and the Australian Digital Health Agency. •   \[01:25] Peter O'Halloran's role and the importance of interoperability. •   \[02:40] Terminology without borders: Perspectives on implementation maturity. •   \[04:34] Digital health maturity across Australia. •   \[06:21] Australia’s national digital health strategy and interoperability plan. •   \[08:12] How Australia is learning from, and contributing to, global interoperability. •   \[11:23] Why SNOMED CT remains critical to interoperability in Australia. •   \[13:29] Sparked: Australia's national FHIR accelerator. •   \[16:34] What attendees can expect from the SNOMED CT Expo in Sydney **Quotes:** One of the things we do in Australia very well is we never think we have the solutions to all of the problems we have. And so we like to share our problems with people, but also to learn what's worked for them and to share what's worked for us. — Peter O'Halloran **\[03:31]** “The benefit we see of having that data flow across all care settings means that patients can get the best health outcomes no matter where they go to access care.” — Peter O'Halloran **\[05:39]** “And I think that's the real power of what we do together is we all have a common outcome; we're not competing with each other. And that collaboration, whether it's inside our own nations or internationally, is actually what gives us the ideas and the ability to move forward.” — Peter O'Halloran **\[10:47]** “Australia chose SNOMED and has kept SNOMED for nearly 20 years because it is the most advanced, broadest, and deepest clinical terminology out there. There is nothing else that competes with it. There is nothing that is even close in terms of its coverage. And that’s critical for us.” — Peter O'Halloran **\[11:55]** **Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:** Peter O’Halloran - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petertransforms/  Australian Digital Health Agency - https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/ SNOMED CT Expo 2026 - https://www.snomed.org/snomedct-expo Kelly Kuru - https://www.snomed.org/our-team/kelly-kuru SNOMED International - https://www.snomed.org