1. health and fitness
2. disorders

Clinical review of SNOMED CT/ICD-11 alignment
April 2015
Subject
SNOMED CT/ICD-11 gap analysis work – call for international clinical specialists for review of
SNOMED CT content proposals
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the help required from Clinical experts to review
proposed new SNOMED CT content to ensure alignment with ICD-11 and to provide feedback on
clinical validity.
Background
The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), developers
and owners of SNOMED CT internationally, has a collaboration agreement with WHO to ensure
linkage between SNOMED CT and WHO classifications.
As part of this agreement, IHTSDO is undertaking a key piece of work to ensure alignment
between SNOMED CT content and that proposed in ICD-11 (Common Ontology) so that clinicians
globally can use SNOMED CT in the electronic record for clinical information and users can then
link across to ICD-11 for information related to mortality and morbidity, billing, public health,
epidemiology etc. The review focuses on identifying gaps in SNOMED CT in relation to ICD-11,
checking the clinical definitions and confirming what is out of scope for SNOMED CT, such as
specific classification terms.
IHTSDO is working through the ICD-11 beta version chapter by chapter and preparing an initial
assessment. The next step is review by clinical specialists - to review what SNOMED CT changes
are being proposed, to ensure clinical relevant for international usage as well as ensuring that
the clinical definitions are understandable and in line with current clinical practice.
Next steps
At this time, IHTSDO has drawn up an outline plan for progressing the chapters, through to end
of 2015 (a plan for 2016 will follow in October 2015), and is therefore reaching out globally to
seek clinicians from the relevant specialties to contribute to the review of the proposed changes
to SNOMED CT and on the clinical definitions.
IHTSDO is not seeking specifically individuals with medical informatics expertise but rather those
who are interested in contributing clinically to ongoing development of SNOMED CT. Interested
clinicians should have an awareness of terminology and use in electronic records and have recent
clinical experience. IHTSDO will undertake a session providing background to SNOMED CT and
IHTSDO, details around the methodology being used and how the work is to be done, using
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spreadsheets - all this will be done remotely. IHTSDO hope that the work will be of benefit to
clinicians, giving them more knowledge of SNOMED CT and its application for their specialty.
Review work by clinical specialists is normally done over a one month period with IHTSDO
support as required – the number of hours will vary according to how much an individual
clinician wants to contribute but would normally be between 10 and 20 hours in total. Please
note there is no remuneration, however the IHTSDO are working through how to acknowledge
the contribution so that the clinicians involved can demonstrate their input.
Schedule of work
The following is the list of chapters for review and indicative timelines (we can be flexible),
along with the type of clinical specialist required. Note that multiple specialists are needed so
clinical groups are also welcome.
Chapter headings
Infectious diseases
Diseases of the blood and bloodforming organs
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic
diseases
Diseases of the ear and mastoid
process
Diseases of the digestive system
Diseases of the skin
Diseases of the musculoskeletal
system and connective tissue
Diseases of the genitourinary system
Reviewers required
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Certain conditions originating in the
perinatal and neonatal period
Between now to August
2015
Between now to August
2015
Mental and behavioural disorders
June 2015 onwards
Diseases of the nervous system
Diseases of the eye and adnexa
Developmental anomalies
June 2015 onwards
June 2015 onwards
June 2015 onwards
Clinical specialty
Infection disease
specialists
Haematology
Endocrinology
Ear, Nose & Throat
Gastroenterology,
Hepatology,
Endocrinology
Dermatology
Rheumatology,
Orthopedics, Sports
Medicine, Paediatrics
Nephrology, Urology
and GUM
Paediatrics
(neonatology)
Psychiatry & Child
Psychiatry
Neurology
Opthalmology
Interested in participating?
If you would like to find out more about participating in this important work, which will
further contribute to ensuring fitness-for-purpose of SNOMED CT, please contact Jane
Millar, Head of Collaboration at IHTSDO – [email protected].
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