Dr. Côté was awarded the first Côté Medal in November 2009 for his contributions to the conceptualization, design, development, and promotion of the SNOMED standard, which is now Canada’s vocabulary standard and is being adopted across the globe. Dr. Côté exemplified all of the criteria for the medal with his seminal work on SNOMED, and indeed the medal has been named after him and is called the Côté Medal of Excellence in Health Informatics in his honour.  

Roger Côté obtained his doctorate in medicine from the Université de Montreal in 1955 and a Master of Science in Experimental Pathology from Marquette University in 1964. He began his academic career at Marquette University and continued at Tufts University and Harvard University. In 1969, he joined the Université de Sherbrooke as professor of Pathology and department head. From 1983-1988, he was Secretary of the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke. In 1973, he was named Chairman of the Committee on Nomenclature and Classification of Diseases of the College of American Pathologists and developed the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) from 1973 to 1993.

In recent years, he has worked on the French translation of this nomenclature for use in Quebec. This work in the field of medical nomenclature was recognized by his peers in the United States when, in November 1979, he was awarded the "Outstanding Meritorious Service Award" by the College of American Pathologists. In 1992, he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree for his work by the University of Victoria and in 1997, he received the "Pathologist of the Year" award. Currently, Roger Côté is President of the Secretariat Francophone International de Nomenclature Medicale (SFINM). He is also a diplomat of the American Board of Pathology in both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology.

In naming this medal the "Roger A. Côté Medal of Excellence in Health Informatics" and in awarding it to Dr. Côté as the first recipient, NIHI recognizes his significant contribution to Health Informatics. NIHI expresses its deepest thanks for what Dr. Côté has done through this amazing effort.