LOINC In Vitro Diagnostic (LIVD) Test Code Mapping

Print
Related Pages

Using LOINC and SNOMED-CT to identify and report test results in electronic reporting systems facilitates timely and quality data reporting to state and federal public health agencies. On June 4, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced laboratory data reporting guidance for COVID-19 testing. On June 30, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced laboratory data reporting guidance for mpox testing. The following documents align with the LIVD specification to provide LOINC and SNOMED mappings for SARS-CoV-2 and mpox virus diagnostic tests available in the United States.

Mapping tool for SARS-CoV-2: LIVD SARS-CoV-2 Test Codes.xlsx
LIVD publication date 2023-05-03.

Mapping tool for mpox: LIVD Mpox Virus Test Codes.xlsx
LIVD publication date: 2023-03-29.

 

The LIVD mapping catalogues provide coding for these data elements:

  • LOINC test order
  • LOINC test result
  • SNOMED-CT test description
  • SNOMED-CT specimen source
  • Device Identifier

CDC and its partners will review and update these tools periodically for new or discontinued tests. For more information or to contact CDC about this tool, email DLSInquiries@cdc.gov and use “LIVD Test Code Mapping Tool” in the subject line.

On This Page
Use Disclaimer

CDC publishes this information in collaboration with partners as a service to users. Partners include:

  • The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • IVD Industry Connectivity Consortium (IICC)
  • The Regenstrief Institute
  • SNOMED International
  • Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)

Users include:

  • Clinical laboratory personnel
  • Federal, state, and local public health agencies
  • IVD test developers or manufacturers
  • Laboratory Information System (LIS) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) vendors

Partners and users should know that publication on this website does not infer an endorsement by CDC of any of the instruments or companies listed in this document. The use of an asterisk (*) next to a code in this tool means that the code has not been verified by the manufacturer; therefore, CDC cannot attest to the accuracy of the code. Test developers or manufacturers of one of these tests can contact DLSInquiries@cdc.gov for information about verifying codes with CDC and its partners in this project and should use this email address to provide feedback about the mapping tool.

Accessibility

If you need assistance to read the Excel spreadsheets presented here, please email DLSInquiries@cdc.gov and use “LIVD Test Code Mapping Tool” in the subject line. 

About these Tools

The LIVD specification outlines an industry-defined format to facilitate the publication and exchange of LOINC codes for vendor IVD test results, based on either vendor IVD test transmission codes or manual test identification, for use by laboratory personnel or laboratory applications. The format can be used as-is by IVD software systems to automate the mapping between vendor IVD test transmission codes and LOINC codes, significantly reducing the risk of erroneously mapped test results and units of measure. Find more information about the LIVD specification at http://ivdconnectivity.org/livd.

Use of codes defined in the LIVD mapping tools will harmonize code selection between health care systems. Harmonization of codes between healthcare systems has been shown to improve semantic interoperability for laboratory reporting. The FDA, CDC, IICC, Regenstrief Institute, and APHL have developed mapping tools for all SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests and mpox virus diagnostic tests listed on the FDA Emergency Use Authorizations website. The LIVD mapping tools provide concise documents that define LOINC and SNOMED-CT codes for reporting to public health agencies. The use of these mapping tools could reduce inaccuracies and time spent on the import of laboratory test results sent through laboratory information systems.

Background on these Resources

Public health surveillance for reportable and nationally notifiable diseases and conditions relies on laboratory criteria to support case definitions and classification. The mapping of test results for electronic laboratory reporting systems used by clinical laboratories is challenging due to the numerous test platforms available. The ability for computer systems to transmit data that is unambiguous and has shared meaning (semantic interoperability) is needed to harmonize the large volume of laboratory test data both within and especially between healthcare systems.

A multi-stakeholder public-private partnership, Systemic Harmonization and Interoperability Enhancement for Laboratory Data (SHIELD) was convened to harmonize laboratory coding by ensuring the same type of test is described the same way using terminology standards, e.g., Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC®), Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT®), Unique Device Identifiers (UDI), and Unified Code for Units of Measure (UCUM).

In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration published guidance titled “Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests” to encourage instrument manufacturers to provide LOINC codes for their tests.  IVD manufacturers are providing LOINC using the digital format provided by the IVD Industry Connectivity Consortium (IICC).

Additional Resources

Find more information about this topic from:

Additional LIVD Mapping Tools:

*Use of trade names, commercial sources or private organizations is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and/or CDC. The CDC cannot verify the compliance of documents produced by outside agencies and companies. If you have problems accessing them or questions related to their content, please contact the vendor directly and mention the name of the file so they can assist you.