Clinical Terminology
A clinical terminology is a structured vocabulary used in clinical practice to accurately describe the care and treatment of patients. Clinical terminology covers complex concepts such as diseases, operations, treatments and medicines.
Healthcare providers need to describe and record this type of information about their patients, to provide a history of care for their own purposes and to share with other providers. Consistent and accurate articulation and interpretation of this information is critical to the process of safe exchange. For example, errors in recording the name of a medicine or transcribing from one place to another can lead to serious consequences for the patient.
In conjunction with e-health information systems that can intelligently interpret the clinical information being input, a standard clinical terminology will significantly reduce errors and deliver more accurate and improved recording and checking of information.
The National Clinical Terminology and Information Service (NCTIS) within NEHTA is responsible for managing, developing and distributing SNOMED CT®¹ Australian Release and the Australians Medicine Terminology (AMT) in Australia. This responsibility extends to licensing SNOMED CT on behalf of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO®).
SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) is an internationally preeminent clinical terminology and has been identified as the preferred national terminology for Australia, endorsed by the Australian, State and Territory governments.
The NCTIS Secure Website contains SNOMED CT-AU and AMT resources and associated information on licensing, guides and tools. Access to terminology release files is available to those holding these current licence agreements:
- SNOMED CT Affiliate Licence Agreement for access to SNOMED CT International Release; and
- Australian National Terminology Release Licence Agreement to provide access to extensions and derivatives supplied by NEHTA.
To apply for these licences please register your request at the NCTIS Secure Website. If you would like further information, please contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
¹SNOMED CT® and IHTSDO® are registered trademarks of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation.
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| Documents | Details | Published Date | Hits |
 NCTIS Release Cycle and Versioning | | 10/12/2010 | 985 |