LOINC®

In 2013, IHTSDO and Regenstrief Institute Inc. first signed their long-term agreement to begin cooperative work linking their leading global health care terminologies: Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes, or LOINC®, and SNOMED CT.  The agreement aimed to improve safety, functionality and interoperability for the rapidly growing number of clinicians who manage and exchange health data with electronic medical records.

The collaborative work produced a LOINC®/SNOMED CT Expression Association and Map Sets file based on SNOMED CT International Release, July 2017 and version 2.58 of LOINC, released in December 2016.

In 2022, the two organizations signed a new collaboration agreement facilitating the adoption of standardized terminology to support broadened interoperability of health data exchange around the globe with the goal of enhancing and improving the delivery of healthcare.

The new agreement lays the foundation for development of a LOINC® extension that aligns with the SNOMED CT model, enabling SNOMED International and Regenstrief to distribute LOINC® and SNOMED CT content together to their respective users. The extension will create both SNOMED CT and LOINC® codes for all concepts that are shared between the terminologies, making it easy for implementers to have a unified approach to implementing both standards and to meet clinical and regulatory requirements globally.

In October 2023, and under the scope of the 2022 agreement, the teams produced The LOINC Ontology: A LOINC and SNOMED CT interoperability solution. The LOINC Ontology supports providers and users who implement different combinations of SNOMED CT and LOINC in health information systems and allows them to meet clinical and regulatory requirements in a single solution. Linked together in a complementary way, SNOMED CT provides the computable framework and LOINC provides laboratory and pathology content in an understood format to countries who do not currently use LOINC.

Frequently asked questions are available at:

• https://loincsnomed.org/faq. 

Press releases:

• October 2023: Regenstrief and SNOMED International broaden collaboration to facilitate interoperability nationally and globally by linking LOINC and SNOMED CT

• October 2022:  New collaboration agreement between SNOMED International and LOINC from Regenstrief is a pivotal step to enhance interoperability and health information around the world

• September 2022: SNOMED CT Expo 2022 Moving interoperability forward together SNOMED CT® and LOINC® - VIDEO

• February 2020: Two internationally recognized health standards organizations join the effort to manage an escalating global public health emergency