Germany Enables Free National Use of SNOMED CT

According the the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, the move is “a building block for establishing semantic interoperability in the electronic exchange of health data”.

The German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has joined SNOMED International in order to roll-out national use of SNOMED CT, it has been announced. From 1 January 2021, German users will be able register for a free sub-license to the database from the BfArM.

WHY IT MATTERS

SNOMED CT - which stands for Systemised Nomenclature of Medicine–Clinical Terms - is a comprehensive clinical terminology, a standardised language for accurately coding healthcare at every point. With over 350,000 concepts, the terminology ranges from diagnosis to surgical and therapeutic procedures to symptoms and observables to pharmaceutical products and physical objects. It enables users to record and exchange patient data more accurately, both locally and across borders, ultimately improving patient care journeys.