DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOGICAL OBSERVATION IDENTIFIER NAMES AND CODES (LOINC) VOCABULARY

The LOINC (Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes) vocabulary is a set of more than 10,000 names and codes developed for use as obse rvation identifiers in standardized messages exchanged between clinica l computer systems. The goal of the study was to create universal name s and codes for clinical observations that could be used by all clinic al information systems. The LOINC names are structured to facilitate r apid matching, either automated or manual, between local vocabularies and the universal LOINC codes; If LOINC codes are used in clinical mes sages, each system participating in data exchange needs to match its l ocal vocabulary to the standard vocabulary only once. This will reduce both the time and cost of implementing standardized interfaces. The h istory of the development of the LOINC vocabulary and the methodology used in its creation are described.