Abstract The considerable difference between the reported number of actual and estimated viral hepatitis cases in the Philippines can be attributed to the lack of reliable data. Since viral hepatitis is endemic in the country, efficient disease control depends on access to quality data. The rapid adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) in different facilities in the country offers opportunities for access to such data but it also raises concerns on its standardization for analysis. This study presents the steps taken towards the adoption of a standardized data dictionary for viral hepatitis referencing existing international terminology standards. A series of workshops were conducted to gain the consensus among subject matter experts such as epidemiologists, hepatologists, and informaticists. These workshops guide stakeholders through a shared understanding of viral hepatitis care processes and transforming these into computable representations. Using DOH-approved paper forms for viral hepatitis surveillance, a multidisciplinary team mapped the one-hundred twenty-five (125) unique data elements to various international standard code sets. The output was a draft Philippine Viral Hepatitis Data Dictionary - a prerequisite for semantic interoperability of data from different electronic medical records.