Aligning the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension model with SNOMED International

Following the Delen news article on the phase 3 and 4 changes to the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension, NHS England will go live with the phase 3 and 4 changes as a joint release in 42.1.0, due for publication on Wednesday 13 May 2026.

For more information, see NHS England's updating the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension model page.

Email nhsdigital.ukmeds@nhs.net to discuss this work.

Increasing SNOMED International description length limits

Following the Delen news article on the proposal to increase description length limits, SNOMED International has published a briefing note, available on Delen:

MF Briefing Note - Transition plan for Description Type length limits

A blog post with more information is available on the SNOMED International website:

Blog: SNOMED International concludes community feedback period on proposed description character limit increase and finalizes next steps

Email support.digitalservices@nhs.net with any questions.

Aligning the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension model with SNOMED International

Following the phase 2 changes released in February 2026, NHS England is progressing with phases 3 and 4 of the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension model update. These will be delivered as a single combined release.

Updated webpage content is available, including details of AMP and AMPP changes, with examples and diagrams.

Test files incorporating the phase 3 and 4 changes are available on Delen.

NHS England plans to go live with these changes in quarter 2 of 2026.

To prepare for go-live, NHS England is seeking your feedback via the drug extension model survey to understand potential impacts, and would greatly value your insights and feedback by 9am on Thursday 23 April 2026.

For more information, see NHS England's updating the SNOMED CT UK Drug Extension model page.

If you have any issues completing the survey, or would like to discuss this work further, email nhsdigital.ukmeds@nhs.net.

SNOMED International rationalisation of Unit of Measure concepts

SNOMED International is making changes to 2 overlapping hierarchies:

• 732935002 |Unit of presentation|
• 408102007 |Unit dose (qualifier value)|

These changes will result in the inactivation of duplicate concepts across both sub-hierarchies. Both sub-hierarchies are subtypes of 767524001 |Unit of measure (qualifier value)|.

Read more about these changes on Delen (opens in new tab).

Some affected "Unit of product usage" concepts are used in the NHS dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) as Units of Measure.

NHS England is seeking feedback from dm+d and SNOMED CT Drug Extension users to understand the potential impact on systems, workflows, processes and end users. Your input will help NHS England plan and implement any changes effectively.

Complete the survey (opens in new tab) by 5pm on Friday 24 April 2026.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, contact information.standards@nhs.net.