SNOMED CT is the all-encompassing clinical terminology that is used around the world and as a standard for quality information in the New Zealand health and disability system
What is SNOMED CT?
- SNOMED CT is a comprehensive system of clinical terminology that comprises over 350,000 concepts and 1,200,000 terms in health and social care.
- It combines human-readable descriptions and coded concepts in a poly-hierarchical structure that captures meaning through relationships.
- SNOMED includes concepts for clinical findings, disorders, procedures, substances, medicines, devices and other concepts related to health and social care.
- SNOMED is developed by a global team of clinicians, researchers and content authors.
- Other international coding and classification systems are mapped to and integrated with SNOMED.
What is SNOMED CT used for?
- Clinical documentation at point of care
- Electronic health records
- Consistent communication of personal health information
- Real-time clinical decision support
- Health pathways
- Health data analytics.
The value of SNOMED CT
Visit value.snomed.org for an exploration and case studies of the value of SNOMED CT to patients, health providers, researchers, health system administrators and other health and disability system stakeholders.
Also see this article by Dr Charles Gutteridge at Barts Health NHS Trust: Speaking a common language: driving interoperability using SNOMED.
SNOMED is a standard for the health and disability system
SNOMED is required by the Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO) as a standard for the health and disability system.
HISO’s interoperability roadmap describes the importance of SNOMED to accelerate the shift to a fully interoperable digital health ecosystem.
For more information on SNOMED CT visit SNOMED International.