New Releases of pCLOCD and SNOMED CT Available

The January 2021 versions of pan-Canadian LOINC Observation Code Database (pCLOCD) and Systematized NOmenclature of MEDicine -- Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT^®) are now available for review and implementation accessible from Terminology Gateway.

In addition, the Standards Resources for COVID-19 page has been updated to provide the latest news and status of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 content including a new COVID-19 Canada Public Health Terminology Dashboard.

Content highlights for the January 2021 release of pCLOCD include:

• 49 new records, 21 of which are new SARS- CoV-2 /COVID-19 LOINC terms requested or identified by Canadian implementers. If you need new codes, please submit a request for change.

Changes based on the December 2020 International release of LOINC^® includes:

• 52 total records with content edits in either English or French, marked as R05.13.00_2.69

Please refer to the specific pCLOCD Release Notes. These notes are intended to accompany the release to provide further information on specific additions and changes that have been incorporated into this release.

Content highlights for the January 31, 2021 release of SNOMED CT include:

• 1,706 new concepts added to the Clinical findings hierarchy.
• 486 new concepts added to the Pharmaceutical / biologic product hierarchy. 35 new concepts added to the Procedure hierarchy.
• 103 new concepts added to the Substances hierarchy.
• 164 new concepts added to the Organisms hierarchy. 
• 862 new concepts supporting: Record Artefacts, Physical Objects, Situation with explicit context, Specimen, SNOMED CT Model Component, Staging and scales, Event, Social context, Body Structure, Observable Entities and Qualifier Value.
• Movement of 372148003|Ethnic group (ethnic group)| “other” subtypes from International edition to UK extension.
• Maintenance of the Controlled Medical Terminologies (CMT) Subsets, ICD‑11, ICD‑O, and Global Medical Device Nomenclature Agency (GMDNA).
• Quality initiative: the stated relationships of 9,463 concepts has been made with 15,750 concepts affected by changes to inferred relationships. April 2020 Alpha release of the Orphanet Simple Map Package for prioritized rare diseases.
• Technical updates: Logic Profile Enhancements with OWL axiom refset files and Machine Readable Concept Model (MRCM) updates. 

Note: the above figures are based on the member release notes and are subject to last-minute changes.

Highlights for Canadian Users

• Addition of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) concepts related to food secureity and entitlement to social services.
• Demonstration Release of the Anatomy Model: Integumentary system as been modeled. More information to come.
• New concepts for the soft tissues of the hand, toes and wrists, nasal sinuses and joints, as well as new anatomy concepts for Cancer Synoptic Reporting.
• Ongoing consultation on Concrete Domains and Numeric Representation with a planned technical preview and transition in 2021.
• Updated modeling for diagnostic procedures including computed tomography and fluoroscopic angiography.
• Continued Coronavirus pandemic support and guidance is available via the SNOMED CT COVID-19 Related Content space. For additional Canadian COVID-19 related content visit the Infoway’s Standards Resources for COVID-19 page.
• Editorial guidelines and content for concept patterns “Allergy to X vaccine” and “Adverse reaction to X vaccine” have been updated for this release. Vaccine product “containing” groupers, and a 318331000221102 |Active immunity stimulant therapeutic role (role)| concept have also been added.

Please refer to SNOMED CT January 2021 International Release Notes for additions and changes incorporated into this release.

Requests for change to these terminology standards should be made via Infoway’s request for change management system, InfoRMS, which is accessible once you have logged into your Infoway account.

If you do not have an Infoway account, register to request an InfoCentral account and accept the appropriate license agreements.

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