Terms and Conditions for the Compound Healthcare Headings Model
Broadly speaking, the conditions upon which the CHH model may be freely used are as follows:
- The CHH model is and will at all times remain the Intellectual Property of the Common Services Agency (more commonly known as NSS), including where they are incorporated within, used by and/or referenced from information technology systems developed and/or provided by a commercial provider;
- End users and commercial providers of information technology systems utilising the CHH model must acknowledge NSS as the source and owner of the CHH model;
- Clinical and other users of information technology systems which rely upon any standards suggested by the CHH model must assume responsibility for ensuring that the standards used within their specific information technology system meet the requirements of the specific clinical setting and purpose for which they were originally intended. NSS will not be responsible for any issues or loss or claims arising from any inappropriate use of suggested standards. It is recommended that a robust clinical approval mechanism is built into any system acceptance regime agreed with a commercial information technology system provider.
- It is also recommended that, whenever possible, buyers and users of commercial information technology systems seek to allocate the risk in relation to the CHH model and any suggested standards being inappropriate or incorrect for their intended healthcare setting onto the relevant commercial information systems provider;
- Users of the CHH model must assume responsibility for seeking information on updates to the CHH model and it is their responsibility to comply with the NHS NSS - ISD change control process;
- Users must not change or adjust the CHH model for their own needs. All changes must only be effected through the Clinical Data Structure and Implementation Support (CDSIS) team development process. It is recommended that buyers and users of commercial information technology systems should require that the commercial providers make no change to the CHH model other than as directed or required in terms of the CDSIS process, and also that those commercial third party providers be required to make all changes required by the NHS NSS - ISD change control process; and
- It is expected that all systems using the CHH model must be updated with any required system changes at the first possible version update released after the change is required pursuant to the NHS NSS - ISD change control process. It is therefore advisable that buyers/users of commercial information technology systems should explicitly state this in their statement of requirements for the development/purchase of their system.
