International Agreement to Improve Quality in Laboratory Medicine Nomenclature, Properties and Units (NPU) Terminology

doi:10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.15

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International Agreement to Improve Quality in Laboratory Medicine Nomenclature, Properties and Units (NPU) Terminology

Published/Copyright: March 27, 2014

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 36 Issue 2

The undernoted three organizations are pleased to announce the signing on 7 January 2014 of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Agreement regarding NPU terminology:

· International Federation of Clinical Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)

· International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)

· Danish National e-Health Authority (DeHA)

In laboratory medicine one of the most basic, but important, challenges is to ensure that we have a common understanding of what is being measured in what biological system and of how the results will be expressed. To address this issue the three partner organizations have developed, tested, and refined an intuitive and comprehensive NPU terminology. The MoU and Agreement formalizes the achievements to date and provides a template for greater international promotion of NPU terminology as an aid to harmonized practice and better patient safety.

At the center of the IUPAC-IFCC project are the NPU codes and definitions which have been in widespread use in electronic health communication for more than a decade. The NPU system involves the application of the syntax, semantic rules, and format of NPU terminology for coded kinds of property across clinical laboratory sciences. The database has been built over five decades within the IUPAC framework of terminology, and with IUPAC’s support of NPU terminology; thus it carries the endorsement of the chemical community.

In welcoming the MoU and Agreement IFCC President Graham Beastall said, “Laboratory medicine results influence a high percentage of clinical decisions. In an increasingly global health community it is vital to have harmonized terminology for these results. We encourage the widespread adoption and application of NPU terminology and use of the NPU database. We will work with other international organizations to ensure that NPU terminology is aligned with international healthcare terminology.”

A user’s guide to NPU terminology and the NPU database has been published in both chemistry and clinical chemistry literature.* This guide provides a clear explanation of the system and its operation. Access to the NPU terminology in English is available from the Danish Release Centre under the National e-Health Authority (www.labterm.dk), from the IFCC website (www.ifcc.org), and from the IUPAC website (www.iupac.org/body/702).

Persons wishing to know more about the NPU terminology should contact: Ulla Magdal Petersen, Scientific lead for the NPU database at UMP@ssi.dk; Robert Flatman, Chair of the joint Committee on NPU robert_flatman@snp.com.au

*Petersen UM, Dybkaer, R, Olesen H. Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences. Part XXIII. The NPU terminology, principles, and implementation: A user’s guide. Published simultaneously in Pure Appl Chem 2012; 84: 137-165; http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REP-11-05-03 and Clin Chem Lab Med 2012; 50: 35-50.

See more at www.iupac.org

Published Online: 2014-03-27

Published in Print: 2014-03

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.15