Version 2.80 Hotfix
To correct issues introduced in Version 2.79 and add terms accidentally omitted, a Hotfix labeled Version 2.80 was released in February 2025.
All users who have implemented Version 2.79 into their systems are encouraged to upgrade to Version 2.80 as soon as possible. If you have not yet incorporated Version 2.79, you may skip to Version 2.80 without issue. Similarly, RELMA Version 7.13 contains content from LOINC 2.80 which supersedes RELMA 7.12 and LOINC 2.79.
Changes included in the LOINC Version 2.80 Hotfix:
- Added 78 new terms to represent three HOPE assessments
- Four existing Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) assessments were updated, including the addition of 10 new terms
- Corrected two Answer Strings that were inadvertently modified in Version 2.79, LA32-8 and LA33-6
LOINC® Version 2.79 introduces significant enhancements across laboratory, clinical, and survey domains, aligning with current healthcare trends and addressing the evolving needs of stakeholders. With over 3,000 new and edited concepts, these enhancements ensure improved data standardization, interoperability, and regulatory compliance, supporting the broader goals of healthcare modernization and quality improvement.
Release 2.79 Highlights
New concepts introduced in the following domains:
- 349 Laboratory
- 140 Clinical
- 41 Surveys and Assessments
Approximately 2500 concepts across all domains have been edited as a result of the following:
- Collaboration with SNOMED International to support the LOINC Ontology, a LOINC SNOMED CT Interoperability Solution
- Collaboration with the HL7® Gravity Project to standardize health related social needs information, a project supported by the Regenstrief Foundation
- Requests from US and international users for enhancements to existing concepts
- Internal maintenance projects
Content Highlights
- Health related social needs – Standardized six key assessment tools to support our collaboration with the Gravity Project:
- Intimate Partner Violence-4 (IPV-4)
- Transportation Security Index (TSI-16, and TSI-6)
- Three-item Loneliness Scale
- Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10 & PSS-14)
- Survey content updates
- Updates to CMS Post Acute Care assessments including Long-term Care Hospital CARE Data Set (LCDS), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI), Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) and several assessments related to cancer, diabetes mellitus, and gastrointestinal, metabolic, and neurological disease
Key Laboratory Updates
- Revised content to support to the LOINC Ontology and collaboration with SNOMED International
- Improved concept descriptions to enhance definitions for erythrocyte distribution diameter, sedimentation rate, specimen descriptions, and other key elements
- Clarifications for ratios and fractions
- Simplified component definitions with embedded units and methods separately
- Allergy concepts for food and environment-related IgE
- Genetic testing enhancements:
- New genetic codes introduced for device-based, kit-based, and reference lab testing
- Gene testing for hereditary thyroid, renal and pancreatic cancer
- Collaboration with the Diabetes Technology Society to establish standardized data concepts for continuous glucose monitoring devices to detect diabetic retinal disease
- Regulatory compliance & FDA support with new concepts for FDA-approved testing cartridges and Structured Product Labeling (SPL)
- Expanded testing panels:
- Genetic panels
- Antibody and antigen detection tests
- Bacterial, viral, and fungal identification tests as well as DNA presence threshold tests
- Drug and toxicology screening
- Coagulation and hematology-related concepts
- FHIR and CDA enhancements supporting advanced directives and Portable Medical Order (PMO) information.
- Italy’s Ministry of Health (MOH) transition to a Health Information Exchange supported by 150 new concepts in drug toxicology and bacterial, viral and mycology
Key Clinical Content Highlights
- Document Ontology enhancements
- HL7 advanced directives
- Supporting Portugal with recording social and economic information in health-related documents
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Cardiac measurements related to end-diastolic and end-systolic volume
- Document Ontology enhancements
- Veterinary concepts for feline physical examinations
- Radiology guided procedure concepts
- HIPAA maintenance and certification concepts
- HL7 CDA enhancements to capture social history in relation to health related social needs
LOINC for Information Models
We have developed over 250 new concepts to standardize information models across multiple healthcare domains, including clinical, financial, and supply chain management. These models encompass:
- Structural elements for key entities such as patients, providers, and encounters
- Granular representations of clinical data, including blood pressure, heart rate, wound and pain assessments, and laboratory observations (e.g., potassium, chloride, eGFR)
Each element and sub-element is assigned a LOINC code, ensuring clarity for implementers. These standardized models facilitate seamless data translation into FHIR, HL7 V2.X, C-CDA, X12, and integration with analytic frameworks such as OMOP.
You can read more about all changes in the LOINC Release Notes in the LOINC Knowledge Base. We welcome you to comment on the LOINC Community Forum. You can also send a message to us directly.