A summary of the SNOMED CT requirements is as follows. Additional information may be found throughout this guide, as well as in other documents on the SNOMED International website at http://www.snomed.org/learn-more.
Terminology Structure |
| Coded meaning | - The central component is coded meanings
- Each code must have a single clear and unambiguous meaning
|
| Identifier | - Components must have unique identifiers
- The internal structure of these identifiers must not imply the meaning or relationships of a code
|
| Description | - Represents the association between terms (text strings) and the meanings that they describe (may be language or dialect dependent)
|
| Preferred Term | - Represents the special association between each code and a preferred term (used to display the meaning, unless there is an alternative preference)
- The preferred term association is language or dialect dependent
|
| Fully Specified Name | - Provides each code with a structured fully specified name that unambiguously describes its meaning
- The fully specified name is defined in a reference language (the language of first use)
- Translations of the fully specified name may also be required
|
| Hierarchy | - Represents hierarchical relationships between coded meanings
- The form of representation allows a coded meaning to have multiple hierarchical parents (supertypes)
- It guarantees that any alternative hierarchical view of a coded meaning is consistent
|
| Relationship | - Represents non-hierarchical relationships between coded meanings
|
...
Content |
|---|
| Scope | - The scopeis adequate to meet the requirements of various countries, organizations, disciplines, and specialties
- The extent to which the content requirements are covered develops over timeHowever, the initial release should cover:
- The scope of the existing clinical terminologies
- All versions of the Read Codes and NHS Clinical Terms
- All versions
Other scope requirements identified by the Editorial Board
|
| Updates | - The contentis regularly updated
|
| Granularity | - Allows coded meanings to be expressed at different levels of granularity
|
| Not Elsewhere Classified (NEC); Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) | - Codes with not elsewhere classified or not otherwise specified must be inactivated and no new ones may be added
|
| Extension | - Allows extensions to the main body of work
- Extensions are distinguishable from components of the main body; should be traceable to a responsible organization
- Allows for distinguishing and tracing the code source or identifier used in patient records
|
...