LOINC from Regenstrief and SNOMED International announced this week a new collaboration designed to broaden adoption of standardized terminology for health data exchange worldwide.

WHY IT MATTERS
The idea is to promote more coordinated use of SNOMED CT and LOINC by both SNOMED International and Regenstrief, the groups say – with the organizations each retaining editorial control of their respective standards. 

Additionally, the new agreement targets reduction of current and potential duplication, as SNOMED and LOINC are used by an ever more intersecting group of global implementers.

It will enable standardized terminology and improved clinical interoperability, the groups say, while supporting providers and users who implement different combinations of both standards.

It also will help pave the way for development of a LOINC extension that aligns with the SNOMED CT model – enabling SNOMED International and Regenstrief to distribute LOINC and SNOMED CT content together to their respective users.

The extension will create both SNOMED CT and LOINC codes for all concepts shared between the terminologies – helping implementers have a more unified approach to implementing both standards.

The new agreement updates and extends a relationship first launched in 2013 that links the clinical semantics of SNOMED to LOINC concepts enabling the identification, exchange and collection of data across health systems.

Going forward, both the SNOMED CT and LOINC teams say they'll provide opportunities for stakeholders to discuss joint work products and to explore new collaborations.

THE LARGER TREND
Owned and governed by 43 global members, SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization tasked with setting global standards for health terminology. SNOMED CT is a multilingual terminology designed to capture the care of individuals in an electronic health record and facilitate interoperability, decision support and analytics.

Created at Regenstrief Institute, LOINC – it stands for Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes – is a worldwide standard used in 193 countries and available in 20 languages for identifying health measurements, observations and documents enabling the identification, exchange and collection of data across health systems. 

ON THE RECORD
"Opportunities to support robust interoperable health information exchange, nationally and globally, are vital to providing the best quality healthcare," said Marjorie Rallins, executive director of LOINC Health Data Standards. "The strategic and diplomatic value in Regenstrief and SNOMED working together should not be underestimated."

"Globally, our implementers operate in a thriving ecosystem of terminology and messaging standards, breeding a certain element of interdependence," said SNOMED International CEO Don Sweete in a statement. "With the aim of easing the challenges for implementers of multiple standards, the agreement with LOINC is one that will go the distance in reducing duplicative efforts, facilitating the path to data sharing and interoperability."

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
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