SNOMED International is pleased to announce that the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) and the Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS), following years of research and review of a number of existing ontologies, are recommending SNOMED CT to their members as the standard anatomy terminology for imaging.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) - Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) Enterprise Imaging Community (HSEIC) identified anatomy as a crucial data element necessary to facilitate the consumption and interoperability of medical imaging data in 2019. The first paper, The Importance of Body Part Labeling to Enable Enterprise Imaging: A HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Collaborative White Paper, was published in 2021. The HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Data Standards Evaluation Workgroup conducted a comprehensive assessment of anatomical ontologies with the aim of facilitating enterprise imaging. They analyzed different ontologies and assessed their suitability for the complex landscape of enterprise imaging. Importantly, the workgroup incorporated feedback from providers across different medical and surgical specialties, imaging technology experts, and vendors to identify key features of the ideal ontology and create real-world clinical use cases.
The result of the evaluation work is the whitepaper, "Report of the HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community Data Standards Evaluation Workgroup: Anatomic Ontology Assessment," published in June 2024. SNOMED CT received the highest possible marks for almost every criterion and use-case workflow step.. Additionally, the fact that it offers multiple resources and open-source tools to assist the developer community were cited as additional reasons to recommend SNOMED CT for the imaging community. The assessment ultimately concludes that SNOMED CT is the most viable solution for standardizing anatomy terminology across the medical imaging community.
SNOMED International Senior Terminologist Yongsheng Gao, PhD, attended a recent SIIM conference, where he and Dawn Cram, CIIP, Chair of the workgroup, presented on adopting SNOMED CT for anatomy nomenclature in enterprise imaging. “The comprehensive coverage of SNOMED CT and clinically meaningful representation of relationships of body parts meet different requirements from wide medical imaging specialties,” says Dr. Gao. Ms. Cram discussed the assessment of the existing ontologies and recommended that the enterprise imaging industry focus its efforts on the adoption and implementation of SNOMED CT and establish a relationship between the HSEIC and SNOMED International to enable the community's participation.
SNOMED International CEO Don Sweete welcomed the decision. “Millions of patients undergo various types of imaging, from X-rays to MRIs to CT scans, daily. In fact, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, over 4 billion diagnostic radiological and nuclear medicine procedures are performed globally each year, and without the use of standardized terminology, the risk for harm to those patients increases substantially, so we salute the HSEIC decision to recommend SNOMED CT to their members.”
About SIIM
The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) is the leading healthcare professional organization for those interested in the current and future use of informatics in medical imaging. SIIM’s mission is to advance medical imaging informatics across the enterprise through education, research, and innovation in a multi-disciplinary community. SIIM members are global advisors and thought leaders in imaging informatics, focusing on enterprise imaging, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and standards.
About SNOMED International
SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization that owns and develops SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive healthcare terminology product. We play an essential role in improving the health of humankind by determining standards for a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. This enables healthcare information to be exchanged globally for the benefit of patients and other stakeholders. We are committed to the rigorous evolution of our products and services, to deliver continuous innovation for the global healthcare community. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation. https://www.snomed.org/
About HIMSS
HIMSS is a global advisor and leader supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem. Transforming health — that's our “why,” and technology is the “how.” We know that the health ecosystem can be extraordinary, and that new perspectives and solutions are the key to real change. From public policy to digital health transformation, that’s what drives us and our members. With over 60 years of dedicated service to the global health community, we operate across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Our global community is 125,000+ strong, and includes everyone from nurses to AI researchers. We bring insights from the world’s top health systems, including 430+ provider organizations, 500+ nonprofit partners and 550+ health services organizations.
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