This section provides an overview of:

• SNOMED CT

  features

  Exploring SNOMED CT

• Exploring 

• SNOMED CT

  design and development

  SNOMED CT components

•  components and

  hierarchies

• SNOMED CT characteristics
• SNOMED CT supporting different languages
• SNOMED CT products and services

Why is this important?

An awareness of SNOMED CT features features, components  , characteristics and products provides an initial foundation on which to build greater understanding. It also informs discussions leading to decisions about adoption, implementation and use of this terminology.

What is this?

SNOMED CT Features

SNOMED CT :

• Is the most comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology in the world.
• Is a resource with comprehensive, scientifically validated clinical content.

• Enables consistent, processable representation of clinical content in

  electronic health records.

• Is mapped to other international standards.
• Is already used in more than fifty countries.

When implemented in software applications, SNOMED CT can be used to represent clinically relevant information consistently, reliably and comprehensively as an integral part of producing electronic health information.
Implementation requires an understanding of the way that SNOMED CT content  content is represented by Components and  and supported by Reference Sets  (Refsets).

Exploring SNOMED CT

While reading the guide, you may find it useful to explore the content of SNOMED CT . You can do this using one of a range of online browsers listed on our web site at http://snomed.org/browsers. Note that the listed browsers are  are not endorsed by IHTSDO and  and they should only be used to a get feel for the content and structure of the terminology. It is useful to experiment with several different browsers as  as they vary in the way they present particular features of the terminology.

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SNOMED CT is a core clinical healthcare terminology that contains concepts with unique meanings and formal logic based definitions organized into hierarchies .
SNOMED CT content  content is represented using three types of component :

• Concepts representing

   representing clinical meanings that are organized into hierarchies.

• Descriptions

  which link appropriate human readable

  terms to concepts.

   to

•  which

  Relationships which

  link each concept to other related

  concepts.

These components are  are supplemented by Reference Sets , which provide additional flexible features and enable configuration of the terminology to address different requirements.

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Concepts

SNOMED CT concepts represent clinical thoughts, ranging from |abscess| to |zygote|. Every concept has  has a unique numeric concept identifier . Within each hierarchy, concepts are organized from the general to the more detailed. This allows detailed clinical data to be recorded and later accessed or aggregated at a more general level.

Descriptions

SNOMED CT descriptions link appropriate human readable terms to concepts . A concept can  can have several associated descriptions , each representing a synonym that  that describes the same clinical concept. Each translation of SNOMED CT includes  of  includes an additional set of descriptions , which link terms in  in another language to  to the same SNOMED CT concepts . Every description has  has a unique numeric description identifier.

Relationships

SNOMED CT relationships link  link concepts to other concepts whose  whose meaning is related in some way. These relationships provide  provide formal definitions and other properties of the concept . One type of relationship is the |is a| relationship which  which relates a concept to more general concepts . These |is a| relationships define the hierarchy of SNOMED CT concepts. define the of

• For example, the

  concepts

   |bacterial pneumonia| and |viral pneumonia| both have an |is a| relationship to |infective pneumonia| which has an |is a| relationship to the more general

  concept

   |pneumonia|.

Other types of relationships represent  represent aspects of the meaning of a concept.

• For example, the

  concept

   |viral pneumonia| has a |causative agent| relationship to the

  concept

  |virus| and a |finding site|

  relationship

  to the

  concept

   |lung|.

Every relationship has  has a unique numeric relationship identifier.

Reference sets

Reference sets (Refsets) are a flexible standard approach used by SNOMED CT to  to support a variety of requirements for customization and enhancement of SNOMED CT . These include the representation of subsets , language preferences for use of particular terms and mapping from  and  from or to other code systems. Every reference set has  has a unique numeric concept identifier.

SNOMED CT Hierarchies

SNOMED CT concepts are  are organized in hierarchies. Within a hierarchy, concepts range from the more general to the more detailed. Related concepts in  in the hierarchy are linked using the |is a| relationship.

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SNOMED CT Characteristics - Comprehensive, Scalable and Flexible

SNOMED CT has a broad coverage of health related topics. It can be used to describe a patient's medical history, the details of an orthopedic procedure, the spread of epidemics, and much more. At the same time, the terminology has an unmatched depth, which enables clinicians to record data at the appropriate level of granularity.
Specific applications tend to focus on a restricted set of SNOMED CT , such as concepts related  related to ophthalmology. These subsets can  can be used to present relevant parts of the terminology, depending on the clinical context and local requirements. This means for example, that a drop down list to select diagnoses in an electronic health record in  in a mental health facility can be tailored to that setting. Similarly, subsets can  can be defined for problem lists for physician specialties or to provide appropriate medication lists for nurses in community care.
When individual jurisdictions have needs beyond those that can be reflected in a global terminology, perhaps due to requirements in local legislation, they can develop local or national extensions . Thus, even though SNOMED CT is  is global in scope, it can be adapted to each country's or areas requirements.
SNOMED CT maps  maps work to provide explicit links to health related classifications and coding schemes in use around the world, e.g. statistical classifications such as ICD-9-CM, ICD-10 such as , and ICD-O3 . Maps to or from several national code systems are also available from, or under development, by IHTSDO Members . Maps to or from clinical domain specific code systems are also maintained by specialty groups with which IHTSDO has  has collaborative agreement. Maps facilitate reuse of SNOMED CT based  based clinical data for other purposes, such as reimbursement or statistical reporting.

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Supporting Different Languages

SNOMED CT is  is a multinational, multilingual terminology. It has a built-in framework to manage different languages and dialects and . The International Release includes  includes a set of language independent concepts and relationships and . Today, SNOMED CT is  is available in US English, UK English, Spanish, Danish and Swedish. Partial translations into  into Canadian French, Lithuanian, and several other languages are  are currently taking place, and further language translations are being planned by IHTSDO Members.
The basic objective of any SNOMED CT translation is  is to provide accurate representations of SNOMED CT concepts in  in a way that is understandable, usable, and safe. Translations must be concept based based. Translators need to analyses concepts analyse based on the fully specified name and  and take account of its position within the hierarchy , its descriptions , and its relationships to  to other concepts . This enables a meaningful translation of  of a concept based  based on phrases that are well used and clearly understood in all countries. The IHTSDO maintains  maintains guidelines and other materials to support countries undertaking translations.

SNOMED CT Products and Services

IHTSDO Members and  and organizations covered by the SNOMED CT Affiliate License have  have access to a range of products and services, including:

• SNOMED CT terminology files consisting of:
  • Concepts
  • Descriptions
  Relationships

• Derivative

  works that help in the uptake and use of

  SNOMED CT

  , including

  Reference Sets that

   that support:

  • Identification of

    subsets

    of SNOMED CT content

  • Language or dialect preferences

     or  preferences for use of

    particular descriptions

    particular 

  • Maps to other code systems and classifications

  • Other relevant

    metadata to

     to support use of

    SNOMED CT components.

• Implementation guidance for successful use of

  SNOMED CT including

   including:

  • Implementation guidance
  • Translation guidance
  • Editorial guidance for content development
• Access to services supporting submission of requests for changes or additions to content and documentation.

• Participation in the global

  IHTSDO community

   community through an electronic collaborative space and meeting of special interest groups.