Implementation Manager (IM) Specialist CHTS Practice Test

What type of codes are LOINC?

1. Descriptive codes

2. Unique but without meaning

3. Hierarchical structure codes

4. Standardized procedure codes

The correct answer is: Unique but without meaning

LOINC, which stands for Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes, is a coding system primarily used for the exchange of clinical and laboratory observations. The primary purpose of LOINC is to provide a standard way to identify health measurements, observations, and documents. The nature of LOINC codes is that they are unique identifiers, meaning each LOINC code corresponds to a specific type of observation or measurement. However, they are considered to be without inherent meaning because the codes themselves do not convey information about the data; rather, they serve as identifiers that link to descriptive terms. The meaning is derived from the knowledge of what each code represents, not the code itself. In terms of the other options, descriptive codes and standardized procedure codes imply that they contain information or meaning within the coding structure, which is not the case for LOINC. Hierarchical structure codes suggest an organization of codes based on levels or categories, while LOINC primarily focuses on unique identifiers rather than a hierarchy. Thus, the uniqueness of LOINC codes alongside their lack of intrinsic meaning supports the selection of the option highlighting their unique but nondescript nature.