Worldwide Clinical Terminology Endorsed by Labs

The World Association of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM) recently endorsed the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) as the preferred clinical terminology for coding in pathology laboratories worldwide.

SNOMED, developed and maintained by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), is a scientifically validated reference terminology that enables clinicians, researchers, and patients all over the world to share common concepts across clinical specialties and sites of care. Now used in more than 40 countries, it is recognized by health care organizations, practitioners, software vendors, and administrators as the most comprehensive terminology available to facilitate the storage, retrieval, and aggregation of health care data.

SNOMED RT, the latest edition, is a multidimensional clinical reference terminology covering diseases, clinical findings, etiologies, therapies, and procedures. Its breadth and scope facilitate the exchange of specimens and diagnostic results across both similar and disparate laboratory information systems and geographic boundaries. This enables linkage of laboratory data to the rest of the electronic patient record.

SNOMED CT, the next generation, is being developed in conjunction with the UK's National Health Service Information Authority and combines the strengths of SNOMED RT in specialty medicine and the richness of the NHS's Clinical Terms Version 3 in primary medicine.

"This endorsement encourages pathologists to share health data in an effort to improve the health of the global population,” said Henry Travers, M.D., director-at-large of WASPaLM.


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