Pan-Canadian Health Concern Value Set (PHCVS)

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The use of SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine — Clinical Terms) within electronic medical records (EMRs) allows for improved data collection of clinical information in primary care. To support the integration and flow of this information, CIHI has developed the Pan-Canadian Health Concern Value Set (PHCVS). The PHCVS is a subset of concepts from the Canadian edition of SNOMED CT (SNOMED CT CA) and supports a structured, standardized pan-Canadian approach to the collection of primary health care data.

The concepts within this value set have been mapped to ICD-10-CA, ICD-9 and the Canadian Emergency Department Diagnosis Shortlist (CED-DxS).

When implemented in point-of-care systems, the standardized value set and the maps to ICD-10-CA, ICD-9 and CED-DxS will enable the generation of comparable primary health care EMR data and will support performance measurement for clinical and health system use.

The maps support direct submission of data to CIHI using ICD-10-CA and help meet physician billing requirements, facilitated by the inclusion of maps to ICD-9. The maps also support data collection for facilities that wish to use the maps in an emergency department setting.

A resource to support implementation of the Pan-Canadian Health Concern Value Set can be found under Resource material.

Licensing requirements

The use of CIHI refset maps requires licensing agreements for both ICD-10-CA (from CIHI) and SNOMED CT (from Canada Health Infoway).  

ICD-10-CA is available at no charge to Core Plan subscribers or for purchase by non–Core Plan clients. To request a user licence for ICD-10-CA, contact the CIHI Order Desk at help@cihi.ca.

To access SNOMED CT, an implementer must create a Canada Health Infoway account and confirm acceptance, annually, of the Terms of Use and Licence Agreements. Once a licence agreement is in place, release package files are made available for download by Canada Health Infoway to Canadian organizations at no cost via the Terminology Gateway. 

Create a Canada Health Infoway account 

Release and maintenance schedule

The maps will be updated to align with the new version releases for 

• SNOMED CT CA
• ICD-10-CA 
• CED-DxS 

Pan-Canadian Health Concern Value Set (PHCVS), and CIHI SNOMED CT CA to ICD-10-CA Map — Public Submission Form

The Pan-Canadian Health Concern Value Set (PHCVS) and the CIHI SNOMED CT CA to ICD-10-CA Map will be updated to align with the release of SNOMED CT CA. Use this form to request changes to the maps for the next version update.

Request for change form (XLSX)