SNOMED vs ICD-10

Meaningful use dictates that EMRs use SNOMED as the vocabulary for problem lists (as opposed to ICD-10).  This is absolutely reasonable, as ICD-10 is NOT useful for general things such as problem lists.  For example, ICD-10 only has following diagnoses:
E87.2 Metabolic acidosis
E87.2 Respiratory acidosis

Notice anything?  The acidosis diagnoses all have the same code.  That's right.  There is just one code for acidosis: respiratory acidosis, metabolic acidosis with elevated anion gap, metabolic acidosis with a normal anion gap.

But ICD-10 does have multiple codes for dealing with parrot attacks:

W61.01 Bitten by parrot
W61.02 Struck by parrot
W61.09 Other contact with parrot

Now, if that wasn't enough, ICD-10 has codes for interactions with macaws, a type of parrot.
W61.11 Bitten by macaw
W61.12 Struck by macaw

And there are codes for other "psittacines" (ie parrots):
W61.21 Bitten by other psittacines
W61.22 Struck by other psittacines


While SNOMED has simple, to-the-point codes, ICD-10 has very "pre-coordinated" codes, such as I13.2, "Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease with heart failure and with stage 5 chronic kidney disease, or end stage renal disease".  And for billing reasons, this code is OFTEN the principal diagnosis for inpatient admissions.  While this type of code may help with DRG assignment/billing, it is not practical for patient care.  In fact, any diagnosis name with an "or" in it is potentially a bad thing to use.

That's why we use SNOMED, a rational, level-headed diagnosis vocabulary.