Comparing SNOMED-CT Vs. ICD-10

Terminologies with a significant domain can differ substantially in granularity, structure and organization principles because of the differences in their purposes for which they were designed and developed for. This is the case of SNOMED-CT and ICD-10. Both are very different even though they both primarily related to the domain of findings, disease, and disorders.
3.1 Difference between a Classification System and a Terminology:
SNOMED-CT, a clinical terminology, is a structured list of health terms, also referred to as concepts, which have definitions and relationships. It enables the organization of the EHRs and provides a way to index, store, retrieve and aggregate clinical data. In comparison, ICD-10-CA, a classification system, focuses
According to Chavis (2013), both tackle similar territory since there is great overlap in the identification and definition of medical issues as they aim at improving the quality of healthcare provided. One way to differentiate SNOMED CT and ICD-10-CA are by reviewing their inputs and outputs. SNOMED CT is primarily used as an input at the point of care; it allows clinicians to document using their preferred language up to the smallest level of detail. Due to its vast size and the random assignment of concept codes to relationships, SNOMED-CT must be used through applications such as an EHR a computerized provider order entry or catalogues of clinical services along with other numerous healthcare applications. In comparison, ICD-10-CA is used as an output by coders after the health encounter has been completed either manually or with the use of computer-assisted coding software (CAC). Additionally, ICD-10-CA focuses on categorizing diseases and documenting diagnostic procedures while SNOMED CT focuses on developing a common language for indexing, storing and retrieving of health-related
The mapping of SNOMED-CT to ICD-10 codes is accompanied with an interactive- map assisted the generation of ICD-10 codes (I-MAGIC) tools based on the SNOMED-CT codes. The coders and the healthcare professionals then review these ICD-10 codes and ensure accuracy in the selected ICD-10 codes. The mapping allows the use of clinical data encoded in SNOMED CT for statistical and reimbursement purposes. The application improves speed and quality of ICD coding as well as the reproducibility of code mapping from clinical encounters. It facilitates the development of widespread comparable epidemiologic and statistic data. The map links a SNOMED source concept, determine the location of that concept in the ICD-10 semantic space and assign to the ordered set of ICD-10 classes. It is important to understand the meaning of SNOMED CT concept for useful and reproducible mapping. One SNOMED CT source concept would be mapped in zero to many ICD-10 classification codes to fully represent its meaning. One SNOMED CT concept is associated with multiple alternative ICD-10 target codes depending on patient context. Each possible target code is represented and the source concepts which map to ICD codes with an asterisk (*) conventions, are