Evaluation of the content coverage of SNOMED CT representing ICNP seven-axis version 1 concepts.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) to represent the concepts of the ICNP version 1--the seven-axis model.

METHODS

The first author mapped 1658 concepts of the ICNP version 1 to SNOMED CT using CLUE browser 5.0. The second author from SNOMED Terminology Solutions--with a team of SNOMED CT experts--and the third author from the ICN with a team of ICNP experts validated the mapping result. If there was any disagreement during the validation process, the three of us convened online meetings to reach a consensus.

RESULTS

In total, SNOMED CT covered 1331 out of 1658 (80%) ICNP seven-axis model concepts ranging from a 61% coverage rate of the Actions Axis concepts to a 94% coverage rate of the Judgment axis concepts.

CONCLUSIONS

SNOMED CT can represent most (80%) of the ICNP version 1 concepts. However, improvements in the ICNP version 1 in terms of concept naming and definition, and the addition of missing concepts to SNOMED CT, would lead to a greater harmonization of the ICNP seven-axis model version 1 concepts with SNOMED CT.