LOINC
We support LOINC lookup across Care orders, lab and exchange workflows, helping your team review the identifiers used for its agreed tests and observations.
Set by Regenstrief Institute
What this is
LOINC is a code system for identifying laboratory tests and clinical observations, maintained by the Regenstrief Institute. It is a terminology, not a regulator or an accreditation programme, and a code is only meaningful with the right release and local mapping.
What is built
- Care provides LOINC lookup by name or number.
- Orders and laboratory records provide the linked clinical context.
- Health data exchange supports review of the agreed coded output.
What a technical reviewer can inspect
Inspect an ordered test, its configured identifier and the resulting record. The responsible laboratory team checks that the identifier describes the actual observation, specimen and method. A valid code alone does not validate a measurement or establish receiving-system acceptance.
Illustrative example: one test and its mapping review
This example uses synthetic data.
A laboratory lead reviews a synthetic serum potassium test in the order catalogue. A lookup by name finds LOINC 2823-3, potassium in serum or plasma. The lead checks that the specimen and unit match what the laboratory reports, then records the code against the test. A second team member reviews the mapping before the test is included in an exchange message.
What to agree before implementation
- Which LOINC release your facility and the receiving system use.
- Who owns the local test catalogue mapping and who reviews changes.
- Which analysers and external laboratories send results, and how their codes are matched.
- What the receiving system requires, tested with a representative record.
Boundaries
A LOINC reference does not establish correct implementation of a national profile or interoperability with every analyser. No automatic universal test mapping and no validation of clinical measurements is claimed.
Official source: loinc.org
What we claim, precisely
The system holds the evidence; the facility's accountable person attests. Nothing here asserts that a facility is compliant.
Common questions
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No. A code identifies an observation within its intended context. Your laboratory must assess the mapping and result, and the receiving system must be tested against its own requirements.
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The release your facility uses is agreed during implementation with the laboratory and the receiving system. This page does not state a release, so ask the team to confirm it for your deployment.
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Your laboratory owns the mapping and reviews changes. Care provides lookup and holds the configured identifier against the test. Whether a code is right for a method and specimen is a laboratory decision.
Not answered here? Contact the team
NXH Flow