Regenstrief and IHTSDO start collaborative efforts

The Regenstrief Institute, whose Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes, or LOINC, is the most accepted international terminology for medical tests and measurements, and the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation, provider of the leading comprehensive clinical terminology for health care, called SNOMED CT, are exploring a long-term collaborative relationship to develop coded content to support order entry and result reporting critical to the computerized transmission of medical information.

The two groups recently drafted a general framework for collaboration that will serve as a basis for a formal agreement. This framework builds on and complements the strengths of both organizations and terminologies. The initial focus of the cooperative work will be laboratory testing, with the intention of extending to other areas of mutual interest. The IHTSDO and the Regenstrief Institute will work together to develop this initial framework into a formal business agreement, assess the initial efforts required to put the proposed agreement into effect, as well as plan, support and undertake continuing cooperative work.

"IHTSDO welcomes the opportunity for closer cooperation with Regenstrief and the LOINC Committee," said John van Beek, chair of the IHTSDO Management Board. "Bringing SNOMED CT and LOINC closer together will enhance the semantic consistency of international health care terminology. By enabling interoperable use of our terminologies in electronic health records, this will advance our shared objectives of enhancing the quality and effectiveness of health care."

"Regenstrief and the LOINC Committee are enthusiastic about collaborating with the IHTSDO to add value to both LOINC and SNOMED CT," said Regenstrief investigator Daniel Vreeman, DPT, M.Sc., associate director of terminology services at the Regenstrief Institute and assistant research professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "We look forward to this joint work with IHTSDO because we believe it will improve the semantic interoperability of health data worldwide by enabling LOINC and SNOMED CT to work better together. Likewise, both organizations can accomplish more by reducing duplicative work."

Provided by Indiana University School of Medicine