SNOMED-CT AND EHR
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor Name
Date
, Introduction
This paper focuses on the importance of achieving interoperability in healthcare
systems to enhance the quality and efficiency of existing care, patients’ lives, and the
exchange of information between various entities. SNOMED-CT ( http://www.ihtsdtn.org/ )
is perhaps the largest and most popular healthcare terminology to support the exchange of
EHR and HIE. Most countries have adopted SNOMED-CT EHRs; nevertheless, the US only
employs the ICD-10-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical
Modification) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding systems for claim and
data reporting. This paper will compare the strengths and weaknesses of SNOMED-CT in
EHR and HIE systems, why ICD-10-CM and CPT are still used in the United States, the
future of SNOMED-CT in the EHR systems, and the federal and state activities needed for
adoption.
Benefits of SNOMED-CT
First, SNOMED-CT offers fine-grained data in clinical notes, allowing clinicians to
document patients' clinical data and treat them more effectively to achieve an accurate
diagnosis. Due to more than 340,000 concepts and terms, SNOMED-CT allows more detailed
modeling of patient state and treatment, resulting in a higher level of patient protection and
more effective clinical decision support systems (Fennelly et al., 2021). This also and
significantly contributes to building comprehensive terminology that allows for better and
seamless sharing and exchanging of data between various care providers and institutions, as
well as transitions of care across different settings, with a resultantly improved overall
population health.
Another is that its use in health data reduces the heterogeneity in electrical health
record systems, making the interpretation of the data standard. This is especially relevant in
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor Name
Date
, Introduction
This paper focuses on the importance of achieving interoperability in healthcare
systems to enhance the quality and efficiency of existing care, patients’ lives, and the
exchange of information between various entities. SNOMED-CT ( http://www.ihtsdtn.org/ )
is perhaps the largest and most popular healthcare terminology to support the exchange of
EHR and HIE. Most countries have adopted SNOMED-CT EHRs; nevertheless, the US only
employs the ICD-10-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical
Modification) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding systems for claim and
data reporting. This paper will compare the strengths and weaknesses of SNOMED-CT in
EHR and HIE systems, why ICD-10-CM and CPT are still used in the United States, the
future of SNOMED-CT in the EHR systems, and the federal and state activities needed for
adoption.
Benefits of SNOMED-CT
First, SNOMED-CT offers fine-grained data in clinical notes, allowing clinicians to
document patients' clinical data and treat them more effectively to achieve an accurate
diagnosis. Due to more than 340,000 concepts and terms, SNOMED-CT allows more detailed
modeling of patient state and treatment, resulting in a higher level of patient protection and
more effective clinical decision support systems (Fennelly et al., 2021). This also and
significantly contributes to building comprehensive terminology that allows for better and
seamless sharing and exchanging of data between various care providers and institutions, as
well as transitions of care across different settings, with a resultantly improved overall
population health.
Another is that its use in health data reduces the heterogeneity in electrical health
record systems, making the interpretation of the data standard. This is especially relevant in
