Culling a clinical terminology: a systematic approach to identifying problematic content

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Clinical Terminology Management
• Health Data Standards

Background:

• The College of American Pathologists and the UK's National Health Service (NHS) are merging SNOMED RT and Clinical Terms Version 3.
• This initiative aims to create a unified clinical terminology: SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT).
• Mapping between the existing terminologies is a crucial step in this merger process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present data on problematic concept descriptions identified during the early development phases of SNOMED CT.
• To categorize and describe types of terminology content requiring further review.
• To establish a systematic method for identifying and addressing problematic terminology.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of concept descriptions during the mapping process between SNOMED RT and Clinical Terms Version 3.
• Identification of descriptions flagged for further review by the SNOMED editorial process.
• Categorization of identified problematic descriptions into distinct types.

Main Results:

• Numerous concept descriptions were identified as potentially problematic during the SNOMED CT mapping.
• Fourteen distinct types of problematic terminology content were described based on this analysis.
• These problematic descriptions require review for incorporation into SNOMED CT or retirement.

Conclusions:

• A systematic approach to identifying problematic terminology content is feasible and necessary.
• Addressing these issues is vital for the successful development and integrity of SNOMED CT.
• The findings support ongoing refinement of clinical terminologies for improved healthcare data.