eCQM data elements are defined using value sets. Value sets are lists of values to define clinical concepts (e.g. patients with diabetes, statin medications used for stroke treatment). A value set consists of the numerical values (codes) and human-readable names (terms), drawn from standard vocabularies such as SNOMED CT®, RxNorm, LOINC® or ICD-10-CM. Below are some resources you can use to learn more about the vocabularies used to create eCQM value sets:
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SNOMED-CT®’s US Edition is distributed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Most eCQM value sets are defined in SNOMED-CT®, except medication, labs, diagnostic test names and assessment questions. The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization, who owns and distributes SNOMED-CT® worldwide, provides introductory content on SNOMED-CT®, as well as SNOMED-CT® Starter Tutorial Webinars.
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RxNorm is used to create medication value sets. It is maintained and distributed by the National Library of Medicine.
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LOINC® is used to define value sets for laboratory tests, diagnostic tests and assessments. The Regenstrief Institute, who maintains and distributes LOINC®, provides resources to get you started with LOINC®, including a one-hour introduction to LOINC® webinar.
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