Standardisation of Terminology: Aim for a Comprehensive, Clear and Electronically Accessible Portfolio of Definitions

All Societies or specialties, in order to communicate accurately in whatever clinical or academic scenario, should aim to develop a comprehensive, clear portfolio of definitions. Ideally, it should be electronically accessible. The International Continence Society (ICS) has now a fifty-year history of standardising terminology for lower urinary tract (LUT) and pelvic floor (PF) disorders, publishing forty documents in total, with twenty-four now in current use. From these documents, the most recent 2068 definitions have been uploaded for presentation in electronic form, as the ICS Glossary. An instantaneous search can be made for any definition and the source document, either of which can be downloaded and copied. A reference to the ICS Glossary is mandatory for presentations to the ICS Annual Meeting to ensure the accuracy and consistency of presentations. Standardised terminology, as used in communications by scientifically focused Societies such as the ICS, is as basic and important as a dictionary is to the wider society. This article outlines the ICS experience as a possible guideline for other specialties or Societies who may not have addressed the issue adequately. It covers (i) the need for standardization; (ii) the different patient groups and topics that the standardization might choose to cover; (iii) the standardization Committees and Working Groups; (iv) the standardization processes; (v) the electronic access. It is hoped this article might be both a stimulus and a provider of principles for the standardisation of medical terminology.