SNOMED CT Case for Investment - Final September 2021 - Flipbook - Page 43
FULL REPORT
S NOMED C T
It Is…. A Core Reference Clinical Terminology
• Several names are given to systems of standardized terms or concepts, such as SNOMED CT. It can be referred to as a
terminology, a vocabulary, or a lexicon. These names are all synonymous.
• The semantic network features of SNOMED CT are the same as what exists in ontologies. While there is some debate
about whether SNOMED CT is in fact a pure ontology, it is certainly a terminology built on an ontological foundation (i.e. it
looks and acts like an ontology).
• Ideally, controlled terminologies (vocabularies) should have twelve features, as outlined in the seminal article by Cimino2.
SNOMED CT does in fact adhere to all the twelve features, some of which allow it to be differentiated from other
classification systems (e.g. ICD-10 has only four of the twelve features present). So, as a terminology, SNOMED CT is fit-forpurpose.
• The Assess CT Study3 defined four types of terminologies: reference terminologies, core reference terminologies,
aggregation terminologies and user interface terminologies (see Glossary of Terms). They concluded that SNOMED CT is a
reference terminology. However, given its a primordial role in the clinical terminology ecosystem (e.g. broad concept
coverage and its integration to other terminologies) Assess CT also designated SNOMED CT as a core reference
terminology (see overleaf).
2.
3.
Cimino J., “Desiderata for Controlled Medical Vocabularies in the Twenty-First Century“ Methods Inf Med. 1998 November; 37(4-5): 394–403.
Assess CT “Assessing SNOMED CT for Large Scale eHealth Deployments in the EU” Assess CT Recommendations, December 2016. See https://assess-ct.eu/index.php?id=start0