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Health Information Technology and Health Data Standards at NLM

NLM is the central coordinating body for clinical terminology standards within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NLM works closely with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to ensure NLM efforts are aligned with the goal of the President and HHS Secretary for the nationwide implementation of an interoperable health information technology infrastructure to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. A PDF file summarizing Health Information Technology and Health Data Standards at NLM is also available.

Implementation Resources

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NLM provides clinical vocabulary standards and tools that support implementation of Meaningful Use, C-CDA, and other programs.

Research and Research Resources

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For decades, the NLM Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC) has pioneered research efforts in the areas of natural language processing, clinical vocabulary standards, and semantic interoperability.

NLM Partners

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NLM partners with ONC, CMS, FDA, VA, and other government agencies to accomplish nationwide goals and activities in the area of Health IT. NLM funds LOINC development to promote greater interoperability of lab test results and patient assessment instruments. NLM is also the US Member Representative to the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation, which permits free use of SNOMED CT in the US. In addition, NLM is a voting member of HL7 and collaborates with them to ensure high levels of interoperability during the standards development process.

Education and Training

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NLM grants provide training in the areas of biomedical informatics to develop the next generation of big-thinkers in bioinformatics, NLP, and using machines to solve real-world health IT challenges.

Health IT News

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Thu, 2 Jan 2025

January 2025 International Edition of SNOMED CT available for download

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the January 2025 International Edition of SNOMED CT is available for download. To subscribe to the NLM SNOMED CT announcements listserv, visit the following link: https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=SNOMEDCT-ANNOUNCES-L

Mon, 2 Dec 2024

December 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT available for download

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the December 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT is available for download. To subscribe to the NLM SNOMED CT announcements listserv, visit the following link: https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=SNOMEDCT-ANNOUNCES-L

Mon, 4 Nov 2024

2024AB UMLS Release

The 2024AB edition of the UMLS Knowledge Sources is available for download. For information about the release, see the What's New section of the Release Documentation. The 2024AB Source Release Documentation Web pages also are available. The UTS Metathesaurus Browser and the UTS REST API include the updated release.

Sun, 3 Nov 2024

November 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT available for download

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the November 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT is available for download. To subscribe to the NLM SNOMED CT announcements listserv, visit the following link: https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=SNOMEDCT-ANNOUNCES-L

Tue, 1 Oct 2024

October 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT available for download

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the October 2024 International Edition of SNOMED CT is available for download. To subscribe to the NLM SNOMED CT announcements listserv, visit the following link: https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=SNOMEDCT-ANNOUNCES-L

Mon, 3 Jun 2024

RxNorm June 2024 Release Available for Download

The RxNorm June 2024 full monthly release is now available and has no major changes. See the RxNorm June 2024 Full Release Notes for more information. To subscribe to the RxNorm announcement only listserv, visit the following link: https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=RXNORM-ANNOUNCES-L&A=1

Last Reviewed: April 27, 2019