Coordination of SNOMED-CT and ICD-10: Getting the Most out of Electronic Health Record Systems

A standard electronic health record (EHR) and interoperable national health information infrastructure require the use of uniform health information standards, including a common medical language. Data must be collected and maintained in a standardized format, using uniform definitions, in order to link data within an EHR system or share health information between systems. The lack of standards has been a key barrier to electronic connectivity in healthcare. Together, standard clinical terminologies and classifications represent a common medical language, allowing clinical data to be effectively utilized and shared between EHR systems. Therefore, standard clinical terminologies and classifications, with maps to link them, must be incorporated into EHR systems to achieve system interoperability and the benefits of a national health information infrastructure.