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Writer's pictureRiddhi Agrahari

Standardisation of Health Records and Claims through SNOMED CT, ICD-10 and LOINC

Updated: Jun 12



In India's healthcare transformation journey, SNOMED CT, ICD-10, and LOINC play crucial roles as standardised languages for capturing and exchanging healthcare information. Here's how each contributes:


SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms):


  • Comprehensive Terminology: SNOMED CT is a vast and extensible clinical vocabulary encompassing a wide range of medical terms, conditions, procedures, medications, and more. This allows for precise and consistent documentation of patient information across healthcare settings.

  • Improved Data Sharing: By using SNOMED CT, healthcare providers can ensure their clinical data is understood by other systems and stakeholders, facilitating seamless data exchange and collaboration.

  • Enhanced Analytics: Standardised terminology enables accurate data analysis, leading to better insights into disease trends, treatment effectiveness, and resource allocation within the healthcare system.

  • Supporting NDHM: SNOMED CT is a foundational component of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in India, enabling the creation of a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system.


ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision):

  • Standardised Diagnoses: ICD-10 provides a standardised coding system for classifying diseases and health conditions. This allows for consistent reporting of diagnoses across healthcare institutions, facilitating:

  • Public health surveillance: Tracking disease outbreaks and monitoring health trends.

  • Healthcare resource allocation: Distributing resources based on the prevalence of specific diseases.

  • Medical research: Conducting comparative studies and analyzing treatment outcomes.


  • Global Interoperability: ICD-10 is a globally recognized standard, allowing for data exchange and comparison of health information between India and other countries.


LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes):

  • Standardized Lab Tests and Measurements: LOINC provides a standardized vocabulary for identifying laboratory tests and other medical measurements. This ensures consistent reporting of test results across different laboratories and healthcare providers.

  • Improved Data Analysis: Standardized reporting formats enable accurate data analysis and comparison of laboratory results across different patients and healthcare institutions.

  • Enhanced Clinical Decision-Making: LOINC facilitates better clinical decision-making by providing clear and unambiguous test results, allowing healthcare professionals to tailor treatment plans more effectively.


Combined Impact:

These three standards, working together, are instrumental in India's healthcare transformation by:

  • Improving data quality and consistency: Standardized terminology minimizes errors and misinterpretations in healthcare data.

  • Enabling seamless information exchange: Consistent data formats ensure smooth communication and collaboration between healthcare providers.

  • Facilitating data-driven decision-making: Standardized data enables better analysis for improved patient care, resource allocation, and public health initiatives.


The adoption of SNOMED CT, ICD-10, and LOINC paves the way for a more efficient, interconnected, and data-driven healthcare system in India, ultimately benefiting both patients and healthcare professionals.  Drona Pay has adapters that help integrate with FHIR compliant messages to process healthcare claims. Drona Pay’s real time decisioning platform will leverage FHIR along with other standards like ICD-10, SNOMED CT and LOINC to automate health claims processing. 

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