The use of LOINC "magic value" in combination with SNOMED CT codes
For exchanging vital signs observations using HL7 FHIR in Norway
Vital signs observations have predefined profiles defined by HL7 International. The goal of the HL7 vital signs profiles are:
The FHIR Vital Signs profile sets minimum expectations for the Observation resource to record, search and fetch the vital signs associated with a patient that include the primary vital signs plus additional measurements such as height, weight and BMI.
These profiles defines a LOINC "magic value" for use in Observation.code to tell what is being measured. The use of LOINC is problematic in Norway as the CodeSystem is not in common use by clinicians and the systems generally don't support LOINC codes. In Norway we would suggest to always exchange vital signs observations with an additional SNOMED CT code for better semantic interoperability. The following principles have been defined for the use of LOINC magic values and additional SNOMED CT coding in the Observation.code element:
- A LOINC "magic value" is mandatory according to the HL7 vital signs profile
- A SNOMED CT code representing 1:1 mapping to the LOINC "magic value" can be included in addition to the LOINC code to support better semantic interoperability in Norway
- Any number of more specific SNOMED CT concept can be added to express more details concerning the observation
- When a more specific SNOMED CT code is added it must be a specialization of the SNOMED CT code defined as a 1:1 mapping to the LOINC "magic value"
- When a more specific SNOMED CT code is included the defined 1:1 mapping SNOMED CT code is mandatory
- In some cases a more specific SNOMED CT code can express semantics that could fit in the Observation.bodySite or Observation.method elements. In these cases the information should be included in the bodySite and method elements as well
The use of LOINC "magic value" in combination with SNOMED CT codes
For exchanging vital signs observations using HL7 FHIR in Norway
Vital signs observations have predefined profiles defined by HL7 International. The goal of the HL7 vital signs profiles are:
These profiles defines a LOINC "magic value" for use in Observation.code to tell what is being measured. The use of LOINC is problematic in Norway as the CodeSystem is not in common use by clinicians and the systems generally don't support LOINC codes. In Norway we would suggest to always exchange vital signs observations with an additional SNOMED CT code for better semantic interoperability. The following principles have been defined for the use of LOINC magic values and additional SNOMED CT coding in the Observation.code element: