SNOMED CT
SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) is the most comprehensive, multilingual, clinical healthcare terminology in the world. SNOMED CT enables consistent representation of clinical content in electronic health records. This includes clinical terms for procedures and symptoms, through to clinical measurements, diagnoses, and medications.
The SNOMED CT Implementation Programme aims to implement SNOMED CT as the standard clinical terminology used throughout the NHS Scotland digital estate. The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS National Services Scotland to deliver the programme as part of the Digital Health and Care Strategy 2021 and the Health and Social Care: Data Strategy.
Links to the SNOMED CT Terminology Server and sandpit environments are found here.
Virtual Centre of Excellence (VCoE)
The VCoE is clinical terminology collaborative between National Services Scotland and Public Health Scotland. The group is comprised of Clinical Informaticians, Clinical Safety Engineers, Clinical Terminologists, and Programme staff to embed SNOMED CT into NHS Scotland and provide support to those working with SNOMED CT.
Terminology Services
Public Health Scotland provides a Terminology and Clinical Coding Service that interfaces with the SNOMED CT Programme and contributes as members of the VCoE.
SNOMED CT training and terminology advice in Scotland
Contact the Terminology Services helpdesk for more information. The clinical and terminology will triage your request and direct accordingly
Requesting new SNOMED CT terms in Scotland
The team can communicate on your behalf with NHS England to help with new term requests for inclusion in the SNOMED CT UK extension. Contact the Terminology Services helpdesk for more information.
READ v2 Clinical Coding
Our Primary Care Informatics Service provides expertise in READ v2, a clinical coding language that has served as standard vocabulary for patient procedures and findings for clinicians across the UK since 1985. As we transition to SNOMED CT, some services will dual code in READ v2 and SNOMED CT as READ v2 is retiring.