Most health records are designed and developed using one or more information models, which describe the information that is collected, stored, communicated and displayed. Some information models are designed for a specific proprietary system, while others are based on a common health information standard. Irrespective of the purpose, design and representation of the information models, the use of clinical terminology is an important part of making the models complete, meaningful and useful. Hence, a consistent approach to the interface between structural elements and terminological representations of information is required to support reliable interpretation of the meaning. Subsets of SNOMED CT components can function as value setsfor any health-related information model to enable well-defined, unambiguous models of meaning.
As shown in the diagram below simple reference sets can be used to represent the subsets of SNOMED CT components to be populated as value sets within the relevant information models.
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