Summary

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) to represent the concepts of the ICNP version 1 – the seven-axis model. Methods: The first author mapped 1658 concepts of the ICNP version 1 to SNOMED CT using CLUE browser 5.0. The second author from SNOMED Terminology Solutions – with a team of SNOMED CT experts – and the third author from the ICN with a team of ICNP experts validated the mapping result. If there was any disagreement during the validation process, the three of us convened online meetings to reach a consensus. Results: In total, SNOMED CT covered 1331 out of 1658 (80%) ICNP seven-axis model concepts ranging from a 61% coverage rate of the Actions Axis concepts to a 94% coverage rate of the Judgment axis concepts. Conclusions: SNOMED CT can represent most (80%) of the ICNP version 1 concepts. However, improvements in the ICNP version 1 in terms of concept naming and definition, and the addition of missing concepts to SNOMED CT, would lead to a greater harmonization of the ICNP seven-axis model version 1 concepts with SNOMED CT.