IUPAC

Systematically relating all coded 'properties' in the IFCC-IUPAC coding system for laboratory information to relevant concepts in SNOMED CT clinical terminology.

In many countries a translation and adaptation of the SNOMED CT clinical terminology is considered, planned, or initiated, for use in national health IT systems and communications. The SNOMED CT core terminology does not support all needs for laboratory information in health care; specific laboratory terminologies exist to serve that purpose. A mapping has been established between concepts in SNOMED CT and the American LOINC laboratory coding system, enabling the laboratory terms to be used in a SNOMED CT context.

The IFCC-IUPAC coding system is in actual or planned use as a laboratory terminology in several countries. In order to integrate the use of the system with national clinical terminologies based on SNOMED CT a systematic mapping of relations between the two systems is needed. The connection between LOINC codes and the SNOMED CT core terminology is established via a table of relations. A similar set of relations can be produced for IFCC-IUPAC codes.

Identifying related concepts in SNOMED CT for each IFCC-IUPAC code may to a large extent be done in a structured manner based on defined rules. The project entails

• establishing a database as a tool for mapping and reporting
• determining rules for systematic mapping
• performing the actual mapping between IFCC-IUPAC properties and SNOMED CT elements - using rule based matching where possible
• identifying concepts used in IFCC-IUPAC terminology, but not yet included in SNOMED CT.

In order to ensure a close and specific mapping, cooperation with SNOMED International should be established, enabling needed concepts to be established in the SNOMED CT terminology in a planned manner.

<project announcement published in Chem. Int. Mar-Apr 2007, p. 18>