Achieving SNOMED CT® Compliance For Better Care Delivery

The healthcare industry faces a critical question of semantics. As Meaningful Use (MU) converges with ICD-10 and the evolving performance-based revenue landscape, one important issue for health IT vendors and providers alike is the need for a common clinical vocabulary.

It’s no secret that the complexities associated with translating disparate clinical terms between health IT systems has been a barrier to interoperability. It will take coherency and consistency of language to support the kind of real-time sharing of patient information needed to achieve the aggressive quality expectations laid out in federal initiatives. This effort will require that information be mapped and linked to a standard terminology that can be understood across the care continuum.

Use of SNOMED CT, a widely used clinical terminology, is important to achieving the information-sharing goals of MU, as well as helping to manage the recent transition to ICD-10. Now, as a Stage 2 requirement for the capture of problem lists, SNOMED CT conversion is becoming a priority component of the complex and resource-strapped health IT strategy for many healthcare organizations.