Contrasting lexical similarity and formal definitions in SNOMED CT: consistency and implications.OBJECTIVE
 To quantify the presence of and evaluate an approach for detection of inconsistencies in the formal definitions of SNOMED CT (SCT) concepts utilizing a lexical method.



SNOMED CT
To quantify the presence of and evaluate an approach for detection of inconsistencies in the formal definitions of SNOMED CT (SCT) concepts utilizing a lexical method.


 Utilizing SCT's Procedure hierarchy, we algorithmically formulated similarity sets: groups of concepts with similar lexical structure of their fully specified name.  While, at this time of the HITECH initiative, the formal definitions of SCT are only a minor consideration, in the grand scheme of sophisticated, meaningful use of captured clinical data, they are essential.  However, significant portion of the concepts in the most semantically complex hierarchy of SCT, the Procedure hierarchy, are modeled inconsistently in a manner that affects their computability. 
SCT