The German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has announced that it has joined SNOMED International for the national use of SNOMED CT from the beginning of January 2021.
SNOMED CT – Systemised Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms, the world’s most comprehensive clinical terminology for electronic health data exchange, has been adopted to implement Germany’s digitisation initiative. As of 1 January 2021, German users can register to apply for a free licence to use SNOMED CT by visiting the BfArM National Release Center website.
According to Karl Broich, President of BfArM, “SNOMED CT, as an internationally standardised medical terminology, is an important prerequisite for the reliable use and exchange of medical data from various sources and to enable clinical and research activities. In this way, we accelerate innovative developments and provide patients with new types of treatment options more quickly“.
Founded in 2007 by nine countries, SNOMED International is a non-profit organisation of 40 member countries, including 22 in Europe, which owns and maintains SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive clinical terminology. With over 350,000 concepts, SNOMED CT is not only a coding system for diagnosis but also includes clinical findings such as signs and symptoms and tens of thousands of surgical, therapeutical and diagnostic procedures. SNOMED CT also describes concepts representing body structures, organisms, substances, pharmaceuticals, physical objects, physical forces, samples, etc.
With SNOMED CT, medical data can be recorded more accurately, and patient data can be exchanged both within the healthcare team and with patients, both locally and across borders. SNOMED CT can also be used in health data and analytics platforms, clinical research, applied research and other research activities to improve healthcare.
Digital-health 