Does the Diseases Database contain a coding scheme?
The short answer is ‘yes’ but it can be ignored. Each item on the database is represented by a unique number. As new items are added they get the next available number (n+1). If an item is removed (a rare event) the number is not recycled. The numbers carry no embedded meaning. The database user need not be aware these codes exist. The Diseases Database has no pretension to providing a full enumeration of diseases, findings, interventions etc. It is not a ‘clinical terminology’. People seeking such resources are directed to SNOMED and NHS Clinical Terms. SNOMED and the NHS Clinical Terms (formerly known as Read Codes) are fine-granularity terminologies aspiring to cover all healthcare concepts for encoding electronic medical records. One can potentially ‘walk’ from Diseases Database items to corresponding terminology concepts. Most Diseases Database items are cross-mapped to one or more ‘concept unique identifiers’ of the National Library of Medicine Unified Medical Language System (UM
