The UKTC distributes SNOMED CT with associated documentation, subsets and mappings via the Technology Reference data Update Distribution service (TRUD).  Please register on the TRUD site for access and select UKTC SNOMED from the side menu.

The SNOMED CT data is released in 'sub packs' related to the specific collections of data. Details about the sub pack content are provided on the TRUD site; an overview of the main ones are given below.

For all SNOMED CT sub packs you will be asked to commit to a licence agreement before downloading. Use of SNOMED CT is free within the NHS in the UK, for further details please view the licensing page.

NHS SNOMED sub pack

The UK Edition of SNOMED CT includes both content of international relevance and additional content for use only in the UK (for example UK specific administrative concepts). The UK Edition includes both the international and the UK specific content.

A new version of the UK Edition of SNOMED CT is released shortly after the release of the International Edition so that UK specific content can be included. The release dates of the UK Edition of SNOMED CT are 1 April and 1 October each year.

NHS SNOMED Cross maps sub pack

With SNOMED CT it can be necessary to create links (mappings) to other standard coding schemes that are already in use in the NHS in some legacy systems. These mappings support specific business cases or requirements such as reimbursement.

The UKTC maintain cross-mappings from SNOMED CT to the NHS Information Standard Classifications ICD-10 and OPCS-4. The cross maps can be downloaded from TRUD and are in the UKTC SNOMED set of sub packs.

For more information about the business requirements and maintenance and development of these cross maps visit 'Cross-mapping' which is part of the NHS Classifications Service.

Additionally the UKTC provides mappings between SNOMED CT and The Read Codes, and between SNOMED CT and the National Interim Clinical Imaging Procedures.

SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension

The SNOMED CT UK Drug extension data is updated and published every four weeks. The data is included within the NHS_SNOMED sub pack on TRUD within UKTC SNOMED.

The SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension comprises:

• NHS dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) derived content
• Clinical Terms Version 3 (CTV3) derived content
• Some additional unique content.

Any new CTV3 content created to support the Read Drug and Appliance Dictionary is automatically given a retired status in SNOMED CT.

All dm+d concept classes are included in the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension (VTM, VMP, AMP, VMPP and AMPP). Not all attributes and associations from the XML dm+d format are included in the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension.

The SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension data also includes the Trade Family and Trade Family Group subsets. These subsets are provided to help system suppliers with the implementation of dm+d. For more details see SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension on the dm+d website.