SNOMED CT (Clinical Terms) is the most comprehensive and precise clinical health terminology product in the world, owned and distributed around the world by the SNOMED International, the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO).
What is SNOMED CT?
- It was developed as an international clinical terminology by the National Health Service in the UK and the College of American Pathologists in the USA in 1999. SNOMED CT was created by merging SNOMED RT and the United Kingdom’s Clinical Terms Version 3 (formerly known as the Read Codes)
- It is a system of over 325,000 unique terms developed by clinicians and health researchers to accurately and consistently present clinical information
- It enables consistent communication of health information across different healthcare systems.
- It is mapped to other international standards
- It is already used in more than 75 countries.
What is SNOMED CT used for?
- Clinical documentation at point of care
- Electronic health records
- Electronic communication of health information
- Real time decision support for clinicians
- Supporting evidence based care
- Defining clinical pathways and clinical knowledge bases
- Analysis of relationships between diseases/disorders, treatments (including pharmaceuticals), comorbidities etc.
SNOMED has been endorsed by the Health Information Standards Organisation as the clinical terminology to be used across the health and disability sector in New Zealand.
For more information on SNOMED CT visit SNOMED International.