Healthcare Application Providers
Addressing Terminology Service Requirements
Application providers should refer to the following sections of this guide for statements of terminology service requirements that need to be met for effective access to SNOMED CT.
Which notes user requirements for high performance services that provide appropriate access to SNOMED CT.
Which describes specific terminology services or functions that are required to enable effective use of SNOMED CT
Which provides examples of practical use cases involving access to SNOMED CT that an application may need to complete. For each of these use cases it identifies one or more of the required terminology services that can be used to complete the required activity.
As noted in the following section, these requirements can be met either directly by the application or by use of SNOMED CT terminology services accessed through an API.
Application Options for Access to Terminology Services
Applications that require access to SNOMED CT are direct users of SNOMED CT terminology services. Organizations that design, develop, supply and support those applications can enable access to SNOMED CT in several different ways. The main options are identified in the table below with notes on the advantages and disadvantages of each option from the perspective of the application provider.
The first two options shown in the table require the application provider to also develop and maintain terminology services. Application providers considering those options should also take a look at the notes on the Terminology Services Provider Role.
Table: Options for Application Access to Terminology Services - Application Provider Perspective
Application includes built-in functions for the terminology services it requires
Integrated approach may simplify installation.
No external dependency on third parties for supply or support of terminology service.
Application provider must create, maintain, and support terminology services.
Must keep pace with changes to SNOMED CT that affect user requirements.
Must enable access to appropriate SNOMED CT edition versions for each customer.
May be less attractive to organizations already using a terminology server.
Application uses a defined interface to terminology services provided by the same organization
Purpose-built terminology server matched to application requirements.
No external dependency on third parties.
Potential to license terminology services for use with other applications.
Must create, maintain, and support terminology services.
Must keep up with terminology changes affecting user requirements.
Must ensure customer access to correct SNOMED CT editions.
May be less attractive to customers already using a different terminology server.
Application uses terminology services provided by a specified third party
No need to build or maintain terminology services.
Less burden to track SNOMED CT developments (managed by server).
Less responsibility for managing edition/version access.
Must support application integration with chosen third-party terminology services.
External dependency on the third-party provider.
Risk of support conflicts between application and terminology server.
Development limitations if the terminology server doesn’t evolve with SNOMED CT.
May be less attractive to organizations using a different terminology server.
Application supports use of terminology services that offer an interface that conforms to a published
No need to build or maintain terminology services.
Less responsibility for SNOMED CT updates or edition/version management.
May appeal to organizations using that interface.
Enables migration to alternate providers if current service is discontinued or inadequate.
Must support interface integration with third-party services.
Performance or result variability across implementations using the same interface.
External dependency for support.
Support conflicts possible (origin of issue unclear).
Risk of stagnation if the server doesn't evolve to meet application needs.
Application configurable to support use of a specified range of terminology services
No need to build or maintain terminology services.
Less burden to follow SNOMED CT changes (server responsibility).
May appeal to organizations already using supported terminology services.
Enables migration to other services if current one is discontinued or underperforms.
Must support multiple interfaces to third-party services.
Result inconsistency across supported terminology services.
External dependency on terminology service providers.
Support conflicts possible.
Development may be limited by server responsiveness to SNOMED CT changes.
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