Field Healthcare Terminology
July 8, 2024โข463 words
Terminology facilitates accurate communication between different healthcare providers and systems, and supporting clinical research and data analysis
International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision
ICD-10 is used globally for disease classification, mortality statistics, and healthcare reimbursement.
- Used for coding diagnoses and symptoms in healthcare settings, billing, and epidemiology
National Drug Code
NDC, CPT, and HCPCS are primarily used in the U.S. for billing and reimbursement purposes.
- Used as a unique identification number for healthcare providers in the United States NDC: Used for identifying human drugs in the United States CPT: Used for coding medical services and procedures for billing, primarily in the United States HCPCS: Used for coding products, supplies, and services not included in the CPT codes, primarily for billing Medicare and Medicaid in the US
Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms
SNOMED CT is used internationally in electronic health records for clinical documentation and data exchange.
- Used for encoding the meanings of clinical terms for use in electronic health records and health information exchange
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes
LOINC is widely used for standardizing laboratory and clinical observations in healthcare systems worldwide.
- Used for identifying medical laboratory observations and clinical observations
RxNorm
RxNorm is used in the United States for representing medications in clinical information systems
- Used as a standardized nomenclature for clinical drugs and drug delivery devices in the United States
Healthcare Claims Databases
1. IQVIA: Offers several datasets including:
- PharMetricsยฎ Plus: Contains fully adjudicated medical and pharmacy claims, providing a longitudinal view of patient care across various settings.
- Health Plan Claims Data: A 10% sample of adjudicated claims from health plans, including commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid data.
2. CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services): Provides Medicare and Medicaid claims data, which is widely used for healthcare research and analysis.
3. Truven (now part of IBM Watson Health): Offers large claims databases covering millions of patients.
4. Symphony Health: Provides prescription claims data and other healthcare analytics solutions.
5. Healthverity: Offers access to de-identified patient data from various sources, including claims.
Komodo Health: Provides a healthcare map with claims and clinical data for research and analysis
Working knowledge of these datasets typically involves:
- Understanding the structure and content of the data
- Familiarity with the types of information available (e.g., diagnoses, procedures, prescriptions)
- Ability to query and analyze the data using appropriate tools and techniques
- Awareness of the strengths and limitations of each dataset
- Understanding how to interpret the data in the context of healthcare research or business questions
Professionals working with these datasets often use them to:
- Conduct health economics and outcomes research
- Analyze treatment patterns and patient journeys
- Assess market dynamics and drug utilization
- Perform pharmacovigilance and safety studies