SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) is the international standard clinical terminology used across NHS systems. In Rio, it allows you to record structured, coded clinical information alongside your free text, helping to create more consistent, interoperable patient records.
⚠️Important: SNOMED CT is an optional module that must be activated by Access Group before it can be used. If you cannot see SNOMED options in Rio, contact your System Administrator in the first instance.
Where SNOMED CT appears in Rio
SNOMED CT can be enabled across a number of clinical screens. The areas your organisation may have activated include:
Conditions
Allergies (Substance and Reaction recorded separately)
Appointment Activities
Assessment Forms
Progress Notes (via SNOMED Coding Assist if activated)
Your System Administrator controls which of these areas are available to you, based on your role and your organisation's configuration.
Understanding the SNOMED icons
Wherever SNOMED CT is enabled in Rio, a standardised set of icons tells you the coding status of each record at a glance. You will see these icons on the relevant clinical screens.
Icon | What it means |
Orange text / icon | A SNOMED clinical term has been recorded for this item. |
Blue text / icon | A SNOMED clinical term has not yet been recorded for this item. |
Green cross (+) | Click to add a SNOMED clinical term. |
Red minus (−) | Click to remove a SNOMED clinical term. |
📌Note: Blue icons are an immediate visual prompt that SNOMED coding is outstanding for that item. Orange icons confirm that structured coding is already in place. Familiarise yourself with these indicators as part of your standard record keeping workflow.
Allergies two separate coding fields
The Allergies screen has two independent SNOMED fields:
Substance: What the patient is allergic to (e.g. a drug or food substance).
Reaction: The clinical reaction experienced.
Each field can hold only one SNOMED term per allergy record. This is different from Conditions and Assessment Forms, where you can record multiple terms against a single record.
⚠️Important: The Substance SNOMED term is critical for active allergy checking in prescribing. Without it, drug allergy interaction warnings will not fire. Always code the Substance field when recording a new allergy.