Besides CPT, ICD, and HCPCS we have SNOMED CT for

Besides CPT, ICD, and HCPCS we have SNOMED CT for coordinating Electronic Health Records internationally. Below are two links but there are many that discuss/explain what it is and how widespread it is. I know we sell/market our PEMF products all over the world but I don't know which of these systems is the most important or influential. Or even if ... should we get one code is it auto'ly inserted in SNOMED?

Is there a separate code for SNOMED and if so ... does it supersede the others or is it compatible or interchangeable w/ them? It's worth reading/perusing to familiarize yourself w/ some more of the crazy quilt of medical insurance coding for medical devices and/or services.

https://www.imohealth.com/ideas/article/snome...gy-system/

How is SNOMED CT maintained?
SNOMED International continuously updates content mainly based on user needs and feedback. Updates to SNOMED CT International are released annually on January 31 and July 31. The United States edition of SNOMED is updated by the National Library of Medicine twice a year, in March and September.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/healthit/snomedct/sno...rview.html

Benefits of using SNOMED CT in Electronic Health Records including:

** Health information can be shared consistently within and across healthcare settings.
** Data can be organized, queried, and analyzed for the benefit of the individual and institution.
** The risk of different interpretations of the record between different healthcare settings can be reduced.
** Can remove language barriers as it enables multilingual use.
** Updated twice a year to help users keep pace with the advances of healthcare terminology and add to the scope of coverage.

In addition to adding value to Electronic Health Records, SNOMED CT provides support for Meaningful Use. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have adopted SNOMED CT as one of the key terminologies for Meaningful Use.

SNOMED CT is an organized set of medical concepts. Concepts are coded with an conceptId number and are linked to language specific terms, synonyms and definitions that are used in clinical documentation, claims billing and reporting. Concepts are linked together in logical connections to create aggregate concepts or conditions. Concepts have a network-type hierarchy where each concept can have multiple parents and multiple children.

Under "Why SNOMED CT"

" ... In the U.S., regulations have designated that SNOMED CT be the US national standard for additional categories of information in EHRs ... "

SNOMED CT can provide the core general terminology for electronic health records (EHR). SNOMED CT supports compatible information exchange and assists in creating interoperable electronic health records - records that can be exchanged between and understood by different EHR systems. SNOMED CT codes (and terms) can be used to record clinical information about patients in electronic health records. Concepts include : clinical findings, symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, body structures, organisms and other etiologies, substances, pharmaceuticals, devices and specimens. The hierarchical categorization of all SNOMED CT terms allows for logical groupings and aggregations which facilitate and improve population reporting.

later, WBeacham