Progress in Medical Information Management

THE LAST 50 years have witnessed an explosion in the scientific advances available to the medical practitioner in his evaluation and treatment of the patient. The arrival of computer technology has helped to augment the physician's recall of myriad pieces of information to help him evaluate the data for diagnosis and treatment. Inherent in this process is the need for medicine to develop a standardized language for the classification of disease into general groups, as well as detailed schemas for the naming of signs, symptoms, diseases, and procedures. To be useful, the system needs to be completely integrated. We review the historical development of classifications for statistical purposes and the conceptual evolution of nomenclatures and discuss the new nomenclature-classification system called the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) . 1 Present and future requirements of the management of medical information will be presented, including SNOMED applications. PART I STATISTICAL MANAGEMENT: CLASSIFICATION VS