Over the last several weeks, there has been a wealth of information released about vaping and its impact on the health of users. While clinical knowledge is still developing, here are some quick facts about vaping at the moment:
- Healthcare providers are seeing an increase in lung-related issues, per the CDC
- The origin of these issues was initially unknown and providers who searched for terminology to document a vaping-related lung injury struggled to find such descriptors
- The inability to correctly document the origin of such illnesses may delay appropriate treatment
IMO at work
Since 2014, terms have existed for vaping and e-cigarettes within the IMO domain. However, with the recent updates in clinical knowledge from the FDA, IMO has taken an active role in creating, validating and releasing more detailed code options regarding related conditions. With these continuing updates, we are poised to double the scope and breadth of our searchable and chartable terms for vaping-related illnesses within the IMO Core portal.
| New IMO Term | Availability |
|---|---|
| Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) dependence | 11/2019 |
| E-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury (EVALI) | 11/2019 |
| Acute lung injury associated with use of combustion-free vaporization device | 10/2019 |
| Acute lung injury associated with vaping | 10/2019 |
| Lung injury associated with use of combustion-free vaporization device | 10/2019 |
| Lung injury associated with vaping | 10/2019 |
| Engages in nicotine containing substance vaping | 10/2019 |
| Vapes nicotine containing substance | 10/2019 |
| Engages in non-nicotine containing substance vaping | 10/2019 |
| Vapes non-nicotine containing substance | 10/2019 |
| Use of nicotine containing substance in combustion-free vaporization device | Since 2014 |
| Nicotine vapor product user | Since 2014 |
| Use of non-nicotine containing substance in combustion-free vaporization device | Since 2014 |
| Non-nicotine vapor product user | Since 2014 |
Cognizant of the need for our terminology products to continually evolve, IMO will release a terminology update that specifically addresses new vaping concerns. This upcoming release ensures our products continue to help providers correctly collect, chart, and report information about vaping related illnesses, and thus help to avoid delays in treatment due to documentation limitations.
IMO’s terms allow clinicians to think and search like clinicians, assisting them when searching and selecting the appropriate vaping-related problem. We know that accurately capturing the condition is the first step in enabling providers to focus on the patient’s outcome and provide the best possible care.
We are aware that efforts to get new content into the provider’s workflow depends on the EHR partner’s loading of the released content. That dependency prompted IMO to make almost the entire suite of terms available within the October regulatory release, while the two most recent updates from the CDC will follow later this month.
Please reach out to your IMO sales executive with questions regarding this updated IMO terminology.
