An Ontology-based Approach to Terminology Management for Healtcare Systems
AbstractThe Semantic Web is a web environment that allows well defined information and services to be easily understood by machines. The main component of the Semantic Web is ontologies, which formally define a set of concepts for a domain and the relationships between concepts. One of the areas where ontologies can be used is the field of healthcare. In particular, the use of ontologies in the field of healthcare is recommended because of the formal representation of a subject area and its support for reusability. Many medical classification systems are used in the field of medical informatics. The deficiency seen in the proposed approaches for health information systems is that there is no meaningful reference and sharing system that enables the collection of classification and coding systems. Considering the general classification and coding systems, it is clear that a system is required for faster, accurate and efficient processing. In accordance with the interoperability needs of health information systems that are constituted by different ontology combinations, this study propose ontology based of Systemized Nomenclature of Medical-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) Concept Model. This model remarks reasonable definition of concepts in SNOMED CT. The official semantics of ontology enhance the ability to automate information management of complex terminology, facilitate the maintenance of clinical decision support materials, and significantly improve interoperability.