Read Codes

Information Standard Notices 1552 and 1553 confirmed the schedule for the retirement of Read v2 and v3 (CTV3) clinical terminologies. The last updated release of Read v2 was April 2016, and there will be no further update to CTV3 following the April 2018 release.

Requests for changes to either Read v2 or CTV3 can no longer be submitted - requests for new concepts should be submitted via the SNOMED CT product menu of the request submission portal. You will need to register the first time you use the portal.

The final updates of Read v2 and CTV3, together with the UK Read Browser, will continue to be downloadable via TRUD until 2020.

Organisations should be well underway with their preparations to ensure they can use the dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) for medicines and SNOMED CT for clinical content.

Static files from the April 2016 release of the classifications cross-maps, from Read v2 and CTV3 to ICD-10 and OPCS-4, will continue to be available. SNOMED CT to ICD-10 and OPCS-4 cross maps will continue to be available to users.

The Read Codes DAAD was released for the final time on 1 April 2016. All releases have been removed from TRUD and access to the release is now via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) only on request.

The Pathology Bounded Code List (PBCL)  is the current national code set for Laboratory Medicine reports. It is used in the ISB 1557 EDIFACT Pathology Messaging standard for electronic result messages between clinical laboratories and GP systems.
 
The strategic solution for Pathology Tests and Results will be a SNOMED CT based product called the Unified Test List (UTL). This is currently released as “Draft for Trial Use” and, incorporates the high volume Blood Sciences Results, additions planned for this year are focusing on Pathology Bounded Code List replacement needs.

More details can be found on the Pathology and Diagnostics Information Standards Collaboration space.