SNOMED CT Benefits—No, not an avalanche – just adding meaning to your clinical terms

A study undertaken of the SNOMED CT Foundation Course is the basis for writing these benefits. They are the author’s understanding and represent a high-level summary of the value SNOMED CT offers to individual patients and the healthcare industry. The scope of SNOMED CT is vast – especially, use in the EMR (Electronic Medical Record) as the EMR is the foundation for capturing the initial clinical experience.

Clinical terms are defined, using standard terminology, such that medical conditions are recorded and retrieved as needed for patient care, reporting purposes, and epidemiology research. In so doing, the medical conditions are recognized throughout the continuum of health care delivery, as well as, globally across countries, languages and cultures.

Use of standardized clinical ideas provide clinicians the opportunity to treat patients as a “team”. Medical conditions are recognized by all clinicians as the conditions are recorded with a “common language”.

Sharing of ‘mapped’ health data – using SNOMED CT – affords the medical community a common standard language to communicate health information with other specialties and disciplines. The same standard language breaks down barriers to practicing medicine that arise from use of different coding systems by different specialties and organizations. SNOMED CT provides the foundation for mapping clinical terms across systems and classifications such as ICD.

Recorded health data – using SNOMED CT – also allows for medical information to be transferred electronically across systems and boarders, as well as, used by the World Health Organization (WHO), while maintaining the accurate clinical meaning of the medical condition or illness. An individual’s medical condition can accurately be translated from bedside to state, national and global levels as is relevant for the condition. Serious conditions that threaten populations can be captured, monitored and treated at the appropriate level.

Medical records recorded – using SNOMED CT – provide for consistency in documenting medical information. This allows for continuity of care, improved quality and safety of care, as well as, has the potential for fewer medical errors.

Consistency in recorded health information also reduces redundancy of care (repeating treatments) which is costly with inefficient use of resources and, sometimes, painful for the patient.

Clinical information documented with a standardized terminology – as SNOMED CT – allows for retrieval and re-use of data for statistical analysis, reporting for quality improvements, epidemiology research, and reimbursement of health services, as is the method in the U.S.

Benefits of SNOMED CT occur at the local, national and international level. Not only is the medical information valuable in treating patients, but also serves as the guideline to treatment and the decision-making process especially, in developing countries. Even politicians and others serving in an executive role glean value for citizens of their respective county.

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