NLM released VSAC update version 2.11.1 on June 23, 2016.

NEW (User Request): C-CDA Download Page for Current VSAC C-CDA r1.1 Value Sets

• We are pleased to announce the VSAC publication and downloadable files of C-CDA r1.1 value sets available in VSAC, authored by the HL7 Terminology group.
• In the VSAC Downloads tab, select the "C-CDA Value Sets" section. Sign in with your UMLS username and password to gain access to the Excel and pipe-delimited Text files. Without credentials, you may review the following C-CDA content lists that display on this page:
  • C-CDA r1.1 Value Sets Available in VSAC
  • C-CDA r1.1 Value Sets Unavailable in VSAC
• In the VSAC Search Value Sets tab, you may search for individual C-CDA value set OIDs.
• Five of the C-CDA r1.1 value sets are intensionally defined and manually generated by VSAC: Procedure, Problem, Medication Brand Name, Medication Clinical General Drug, and Body Site Value Set. These value sets are too large for VSAC to serve in the current available tooling. You may only access these expanded value sets in their entirety from the downloadable Excel and Text files. Although you can search these five value set OIDs in the VSAC Search Value Sets tab, and with the SVS API, you will only retrieve a list of sample codes for these five value sets, along with their metadata and description information in the Value Set Information Section. In the Value Set Details user interface, we provide an explanation and clear way for you to access and locally download these large value sets.
• VSAC C-CDA Expansion Versions: You will find the following note at the top of each downloadable C-CDA file. Note: Five of the currently available C-CDA value sets are intensionally defined by HL7 but manually generated by VSAC. For this reason, it is not possible for VSAC to assign an expansion version and in these downloadable files we have supplied the string "None" in these cases. You may notice that VSAC displays an expansion version for these five intensional value sets in the user interface (Search Value Sets: Value Set Details), and this user interface expansion version represents only the list of displayed sample codes.
• There are additional C-CDA value sets not yet in VSAC because VSAC does not yet host the required code systems. The published downloadable C-CDA release package excludes the C-CDA value sets for which VSAC does not yet have the required supporting code systems. You can view the list of C-CDA r1.1 Value Sets Unavailable in VSAC in the section below the downloadable files.

NEW (User Request): Allow Non-login Access to CMS eCQM "Code System Versions Currently in eCQM Value Sets" Files in Download Tab

• We enabled non-UMLS credentialed access to the "Code System Versions Currently in eCQM Value Sets Update" files in the VSAC Download tab (CMS eCQM Value Sets section). Users do not need to login in order to view or download the "Code System Versions Currently in eCQM Value Sets Update" files. No codes or terms are exposed in these Code System Version files.

NEW (User Request): Keyword Column Added to Create Grouping Value Set Query

• A VSAC user group, who relies heavily on the keyword functionality in VSAC Authoring, requested the ability to make new grouping value sets using keywords they previously assigned to their extensional value sets. In the Authoring tab > Group Existing Value Sets > Value Sets query section on right > Value Sets table of results, we have added a Keyword column so that users can now sort and filter by their keywords that they have assigned to their value sets.

NEW (User Request): Code File Imports from Users’ Local Files

• Users have asked for a way to import a local file of terminology codes from their computer, rather than manually copy/paste into the Import dialog when building value sets.
• We enabled text format (.txt) for this import feature. Your text file codes can have the following separators: pipes, semicolons, tabs, or separate lines. Choose which separator you are using from the Separator drop down menu.
• You can still copy/paste a list of codes into the Import Code "Codes" text box.
• If you would like additional importable file formats, please let us know! Send feedback to: Contact Us

CHANGED: Default Expansion Profile changed from "MU2 Update 2016-04-01” to “Most Recent Code System Versions"

• In VSAC Authoring, we reverted the Default Expansion Profile dropdown choice to "Most Recent Code System Versions". For clarity, we no longer refer to this as VSAC Auto Expansion. Explanation: Leading up to the publication of the value sets for the Clinical Quality Measures (eCQM) Annual Update on April 1, 2016, we set the VSAC Authoring Tool default dropdown choice expansion profile to 'MU2 Update 2016-04-01' as a courtesy to our CQM value set authors. Users access this expansion profile dropdown choice when they click 'Validate' in the VSAC Authoring Tool editing screen for the value set that they are authoring.

UPDATED: Code System Versions

RxNorm 2016-06
UMLS 2016AA
HL7V3.0_2015_07

See all VSAC-hosted code system versions in the VSAC Support Center. Select the Help button on any VSAC page and go to Code Systems and Tools.

Last Reviewed: June 24, 2016