NationalServicesScotland

NationalServicesScotland

INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION

Terminology Services

Contact Details for Terminology ServicesTerminology Advisory Service Tuesday to Thursday 9am to 5pm Tel: 0131 275 7283 Email: nss.terminologyhelp@nhs.net

Full contact details can be found on the website: www.isdscotland.org/terminology

Publications available on the website or from the Terminology Advisory ServiceCoding Guidelines - Produced at least twice a year

National Health Information – the doctor’s role leaflet summarising the process of clinical coding from hospital clinicians to ISD for analysis purposes.

ISD ScotlandSince the start of the NHS those that provide care and treatment have collected information about each individual that they treat. Collected locally, this information is managed centrally on behalf of the NHS in Scotland by ISD Scotland.

ISD Scotland, part of the NHS National Services Scotland is responsible for the collection and development of health and care information.

The information gathered by ISD affords unique opportunities to understand and explore care. It is used to support decision-making, inform research and stimulate debate, all with the ultimate aim of improving the life of Scotland’s citizens.

What is Terminology?Clinical terminology is a structured collection of descriptive terms which are used in clinical practice at the point of care. Terminology includes items such as treatments, diagnoses, administrative terms, social and environmental factors.

What is Coding?Coding is the translation of clinical terminology into an (alpha) numeric code to make it easier to analyse data for management and epidemiological purposes.

By supporting the process of collecting better quality information through accurate coding we contribute to the decisions that inform health care policy which ultimately leads to improvements in patient health.

Who do we work with? Our customers include clinical coders and •administrative staff, clinicians, software systems developers, internal ISD staff and members of the Scottish Government.

What Services Do We Offer?Delivering a selection of standard courses and •awareness sessions on supported productsOffering bespoke training to specific client •requirementsOperating a helpdesk facility (telephone and email) •to assist staff in resolving coding and terminology related queriesCo-ordinating new coding and terminology requests •from submission to relevant organisationsProviding technical expertise for data quality •assurance in other ISD programmes of workContributing to the QA process for new versions of •UK coding systems Publishing Scottish coding rules through the Coding •Guidelines.

Examples of Supported Products

International Statistical Classification of Disease (ICD)

Produced by the World Health Organisation and used in all hospitals to record diagnostic information for inpatients and day cases.

Office of Population Census and Statistics (OPCS)

Produced in conjunction with the Office of National Statistics and used in all hospitals to record information on operations and interventions for inpatients, day cases and increasingly, outpatients.

Read

A computer based set of terms, originally written for use within a General Practice setting and subsequently extended to incorporate all ICD and OPCS terms. Currently used in the National Child Health Screening Programme and throughout General Practices in Scotland.

SNOMED Clinical Terms (SCT)

The Systematized NOmenclature of MEDicine (SNOMED) was a joint development between the NHS and College of American Pathologists to develop an international clinical terminology. The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) now manage the terminology of which the UK is a founding stakeholder.

Examples of training coursesIntroduction to ICD/OPCS•ICD Foundation Course•OPCS Foundation Course•Mental Health Foundation Course•Specialist Workshops e.g. neoplasm, orthopaedics, •maternity and vascularAnatomy & Physiology•Medical Terminology•Introduction to Read•Introduction to SNOMED•

A full list of courses and upcoming dates can be found on the website or through the Helpdesk.

Terminology Services

Remit:To provide a professional, timely and effective support mechanism in nationally agreed coding and terminology products to the NHS in Scotland and its associated partners.

Primary Secondary care care

Scottish NHS Connecting Government Scotland for Health

ISD International Standards National Services Terminology Organisations Scotland Services

NISG Academia

Commercial Software Suppliers