Regenstrief Releases LOINC Updates to Support Health Data Exchange

Regenstrief Institute has issued its semi-annual release of LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes), which contains 608 new concepts to support health data exchange across the care continuum.

Regenstrief released some concepts in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL).

“Aligning the release of LOINC with emerging healthcare trends is an important component of our mission and critical in promoting effective health information exchange among providers, patients, and health systems,” Marjorie Rallins, DPM, MS, executive director of LOINC and health data standards for Regenstrief, said in a public statement.

“Keeping communication channels open with key stakeholders ensures LOINC remains responsive and relevant,” Rallins added. “Early and ongoing collaboration with federal agencies and national and international partners provides efficiencies by inclusion.”

The new concepts include 464 focused on laboratory, 95 on clinical, and 49 on surveys.

LOINC version 2.74 prioritizes new concepts for Lyme disease, the monkeypox virus, and evaluation methods related to the SARS-Cov-2 virus.

The update also focused on adding concepts for identifying bacteria, viruses, and fungi in veterinary specimens.

LOINC is a universal language for test results, observations, and other health information to support interoperability between laboratories, health systems, and public health organizations.

Regenstrief Institute releases updates to LOINC twice yearly, in February and August.

With users from nearly every country, LOINC has been especially valuable during the global COVID-19 pandemic, allowing data exchange across borders and languages.

Since the onset of COVID-19, leaders at LOINC have worked with the CDC and public health labs to create codes to collect and share COVID-19 data.