LOINC continues facilitating health data interoperability with biannual issuance of new concepts

(Press-News.org) INDIANAPOLIS -- LOINC® from Regenstrief Institute is issuing its semi-annual release, which contains 608 new concepts to help health systems, laboratories and other health organizations accurately exchange medical data. Some of the new information has been released in coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

“Aligning the release of LOINC with emerging healthcare trends is an important component of our mission and critical in promoting effective health information exchange among providers, patients and health systems,” said Marjorie Rallins, DPM, M.S., executive director of LOINC and Health Data Standards for Regenstrief. “Keeping communication channels open with key stakeholders ensures LOINC remains responsive and relevant. Early and ongoing collaboration with federal agencies and national and international partners provides efficiencies by inclusion.”

Of the new concepts, 464 are focused on laboratory, 95 are focused on clinical and 49 are focused on surveys. LOINC version 2.74 prioritized concepts are centered around Lyme disease, the monkeypox virus, evaluation methods related to the SARS-Cov-2 virus and identifying bacteria, viruses and fungi in veterinary specimens. 

LOINC, short for Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes, is a universal language used to identify test results, observations and other health information, making it more easily exchanged and understood between laboratories, health systems and public health organizations. LOINC has users from nearly every country. It has been especially important during the global pandemic, allowing the exchange of COVID-related data across borders and languages.

Regenstrief Institute releases updates to LOINC twice per year, in February and August.

Webinar to assist users

A brief webinar will follow the first release of the year a few weeks after publication in February. The webinar for the LOINC 2.74 release is scheduled for 10-11:30 a.m. EDT (14:00-15:30 UTC) on March 28, 2023 (2023-03-28).

This educational webinar provides opportunities for the LOINC community to learn more about each release and ask questions of the LOINC team. This dedicated event is also the LOINC team’s opportunity to announce plans for the year. The August release discussion is included as part of the larger, in-person and online LOINC Conference in the fall.

The webinar will be available later online here: https://loinc.org/webinar/.

About LOINC®

LOINC was created in 1994 at Regenstrief Institute in an effort to facilitate interoperability in healthcare. Today, the LOINC coding system contains about 100,000 terms for everything from a serum alpha 1 antitrypsin level to a zygomatic arch x-ray report. For each concept, LOINC covers many other rich details, such as synonyms, units of measure and carefully crafted descriptions.

About Regenstrief Institute

Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its research scientists are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe.

Sam Regenstrief, a nationally successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute’s research mission.

 

 

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