New ICNP-SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Refset is first product from recent agreement to increase nursing visibility, ensure safety and enhance quality

SNOMED International and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) announce the production release of a new reference set, the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Refset.

In August 2020, SNOMED International and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) joined forces in a groundbreaking agreement for the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) to be managed, produced, released and distributed by SNOMED International. ICN retains ownership of ICNP and the definition of its content so that it meets the needs of the global nursing profession. The October 2021 production release of the ICNP SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Refset is the inaugural release following the 2020 agreement.

ICNP, which has been in use for more than 30 years, is a standardized terminology that enables nurses to describe and report their practice, including diagnoses, interventions and outcomes, in a systematic way. The resulting information is used to support care and effective decision-making, and to inform nursing education and health policy.

ICNP content has been incorporated into SNOMED CT and is being released as a reference set by SNOMED International on behalf of ICN. This Production release is based on the 2019 release of ICNP and the July 2021 International Edition Release of SNOMED CT. Subject matter experts from both organisations and the new ICNP Editorial Board at ICN have informed the decisions about additions and changes to SNOMED CT as a result of the incorporation of ICNP. To ensure fit with international requirements and other sources of terminology, the SNOMED International Nursing Clinical Reference Group has also provided advice and expertise.

To accompany the reference set, equivalence tables reflecting ICNP content and equivalent SNOMED CT content have been created to show the correspondence between the content in the 2019 release of ICNP and the content in the SNOMED CT reference set. Provision of the equivalence tables supports the migration of ICNP data into SNOMED CT for those not using ICNP in SNOMED CT-enabled systems.

This inaugural reference set release capitalises on ICN’s nursing terminology, which is defined by the nursing profession, and SNOMED International’s global clinical validation processes, licensing platform, quality assurance approach and established distribution tools.

Access within SNOMED International Member countries is provided by the Member National Release Centre in each country, via the relevant Member webpage. Affiliates of SNOMED International in non-Member countries can access the ICNP SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Refset through their Member Licensing Distribution Service (MLDS) account. ICNP and the equivalence tables are also available for download from the ICN website.

Visit the ICN pages to learn more about ICN and ICNP. Visit the Our partners page to learn more about SNOMED International collaborations.

Download the press release here