SNOMED CT is a clinically validated, semantically rich, controlled terminology. SNOMED CT is comprised of concepts with human-readable descriptions and a hierarchical structure supported by machine-readable logic-based definitions. SNOMED CT is used within electronic health records to support data capture, retrieval, and subsequent analysis and reuse for a range of purposes. The SNOMED CT design also includes features that support multilingual terms, subsets, maps to other codes systems, formal constraint specifications and comprehensive history tracking.
When implemented in software applications, SNOMED CT can represent clinically relevant information consistently, reliably and comprehensively as an integral part of electronic health records. This requires effective access to terminology content in ways that leverage the features of the terminology. Some services described in this guide are also applicable to other code systems, classifications and terminologies. However, delivery of the full set of benefits of SNOMED CT also requires terminology services that access and make effective use of features that are specific to SNOMED CT.
The purpose of this document is to identify and describe the terminology services required to support effective access to the content and features of SNOMED CT. The guide also outlines approaches to delivery for some of the most important services. In some cases, more extensive details of service requirements and delivery options are provided by reference to other SNOMED CT documents or appendixes to this document. Where appropriate, this document may also include practical illustrations of a service by reference to specifications of existing tools or interfaces.
The content of this guide is primarily focused on the terminology service requirements of applications that enable the use of SNOMED CT for clinical purposes. This include applications that enable entry, viewing, and reporting of clinical data. It also includes applications that support clinical data analytics and decision support. Some services and use cases mentioned in the guide are also relevant to terminology content authoring. However, it is important to note that the scope of this guide does not cover the full set of requirements for terminology development, authoring, and distribution services.
Specific references to terminology service tools and interfaces are provided as illustrative examples only. For the avoidance of misunderstanding, these illustrative examples are not recommendations. Referenced tools and the interfaces they support may be subject to license conditions, charges, and changes outside the control of those maintaining this document. Therefore, if any examples provided in this document do not appear to work, please check the documentation provided by the licensor of the tool or interface. |
This guide is designed to be of value and interest to the following audience groups:
The needs of each of these audience groups vary, and as a result, the sections likely to be of most interests to each of these audience groups are noted in the Document Structure section below
This document is organized into five main chapters: