Atomic Concept
A concept in a formal concept system whose canonical (generally accepted standard) formal definition is not a composed formal definition, that is, it represents a single concept.(ISO 17117)
A concept that cannot be further divided into its parts.
The lowest level into which data can be divided. For example, for the concept name, first name, middle initial, and last name are all at the atomic level. Name is not. Blood pressure is not at the atomic level, but diastolic pressure is. In electronic databases, if one does not use atomic level data, the uses to which the data can be put are reduced. For example if blood pressure is entered as 120/70, it cannot be graphed. To graph it, the systolic and diastolic must be entered into separate "fields," or cells in spreadsheet or table terminology.
Axis
The unifying principle, dimension, or criteria in a classification scheme around which terms are grouped. In a relatively simple classification scheme we might use an axis of age to classify patients seen in a clinic. For example:
infants - age 0 -1
toddlers - age 1 - 2
preschool - age 3 - 5
primary school - age 5 - 12
teen - age 13 - 18
adult - 19 - 64
elderly - 65 +
In NANDA Terminology II, an axis is a dimension of the human response used to make a nursing diagnosis. The axes are the diagnostic concept, time, unit of care, age, health status, descriptor, and topology (parts or regions of the body).
In the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) the axes are: Client, Focus (the problem), Judgment (opinion), Means, Action, Time, Location . Creating a nursing problem, intervention, or outcome in this nursing standardized terminology means selecting a term from these axes. Some are required.
Canonical Term
A term that cannot be further divided into standardized parts.
Catalog
Part of the International Classification of Nursing Practice. Now referred to as subsets.
Classification Scheme (System)
Set of mutually exclusive designations structured to support aggregation. (ISO 17117)
Exhaustive set of mutually exclusive categories to aggregate data at a pre-prescribed level of specification for a specific purpose. (ISO 17115)
An assignment of objects into groups based upon characteristics which the objects have in common, e.g. origin, composition, structure, function, etc. Examples include NANDA Taxonomy II, Nursing Interventions Classification, International Classification of Diseases.
A scheme in which objects are classified based on given characteristics. For example, influenza is a type of infectious disease. Infectious disease represents a broader concept, while influenza is a narrower concept. Influenza could be further classified according to its type into even narrower categories. To classify objects, rules are set up that determine into what category, and at what level, a given object (or term) belongs. The rules used in a classification are decided by those who design the classification system. Often consists of a mono-axial or multi-axial taxonomy.
Clinical Data Repository
A physical or logical compendium (complete collection) of patient data pertaining to health. An "information warehouse" that stores data longitudinally and in multi-forms such as text, voice, and images. (From The ANA Nursing Information and Data Set Evaluation Criteria (NIDSEC).
"An independent platform that will interact with transaction systems sending information in both directions." There may be many different users who perform both research and transaction-oriented activities (e.g., examining a patient's history, accessing outcomes analyses, and ordering new treatments, tests, medications, etc.). Source: Mathys, G. R. (1995). Patient-care systems trends: the clinical data repository - Industry Watch. Health Management Technology [Electronic Version] Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DUD/is_n2_v16/ai_16633709
"A set of applications that supplement current transaction systems to provide a `repository-like' view of data stored in existing application files (examples include Windows-based workstations or special inquiry programs)."FROM Mathys, G. R. (1995). Patient-care systems trends: the clinical data repository - Industry Watch. Health Management Technology [Electronic Version] Retrieved September 15, 2006 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DUD/is_n2_v16/ai_16633709.
In simple terms, a collection of patient data that is structured so that it can be analyzed many different ways.
Clinical Terminology
Terminology required directly or indirectly to describe health conditions and healthcare activities (ISO 17115)
Simply, terminology used to describe healthcare conditions and activities.
Coding System
A set of agreed upon symbols (frequently numeric or alphanumeric) attached to concept representation or terms in order to allow exchange of concept representations or terms with regard to their form or meaning (CEN ENV 12264) Examples include the contents of the Perioperative Nursing Data Set, and the Clinical Care Classification System.
Simply, an agreed upon set of numbers, letters, or both that represent terms. Often the terms are a standardized vocabulary, that has been agreed upon to represent concepts. An example would be a nursing diagnosis.
Common Formal Language
Common formal language. A method of formatting a domain terminology so that it can be understood, searched, and used across related domains. E.G. a nursing terminology can be "integrated" with a biomedical terminology.
Concept
A unit of thought constituted through abstraction on the basis of properties common to a set of objects. (ISO 1087)
A unit of knowledge created by a unique combination of characteristics (ISO 17117).
A principle, object or idea. It is usually represented by a term, e.g. telephone, hemorrhage.
Concept Representation System
A set of concepts represented by formal symbols in order to facilitate expression, delimitation, and manipulation (e.g., formal classification, controlled generation, and translation to and from natural language) by computer (CEN ENV 12264) Examples include SNOMED Reference Terminology (SNOMED RT).
The concepts are generally represented by agreed upon terms, and the terms are represented by a code in a coding system.
Controlled Vocabulary
Terminological dictionary containing (and restricted to) the terminology of a specific subject field or of related subject fields and based on terminologic work. (ISO 1087/CEN ENV 12264) For example, the terms used on a multidisciplinary problem list.
Standardized terms used by the organizers of a database to describe each concept so that all items on that mean the same use the same term or subject heading. Controlled vocabularies organize the information in a database (such as Library of Congress Subject Headings in their Online Catalog, or descriptors or subject terms in electronic or paper indexes).
Simply, " a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval" using a given set of terms. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary
Database
A collection of inter-related data often with controlled redundancy, organized according to a scheme to serve one or more applications; the data are stored so that they can be used by several programs without concern for data structures or organization. (ANSI X3-172/ISO 11179-1) Examples include The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI).
Data stored in a structured way so that it can be retrieved in many ways. For example, a database that contained data for one patient that consisted of nursing diagnoses and medical diagnosis, agency where treated, time of admission, time of discharge, and iatrogenic complications could be used in many ways including, but not limited to, to learn:
What nursing diagnosis were used with what medical diagnosis.
What medical diagnosis have what nursing diagnosis.
What combination of medical and nursing diagnosis have the longest length of stay.
What combination of medical and nursing diagnosis have the most iatrogenic complications.
What nursing diagnoses have the most iatrogenic complications.
For these answers to be provided, identical terms must be used to represent each piece of data. When two different terms are used to represent the same concept, the computer regards them as different and will not provide correct answers.
Data Element
A unit of data for which the definition, identification, representation (term used to represent it), and permissible values are specified by means of a set of attributes. (ISO 11179-1) A data set is a defined collection of data elements, e.g., “ nursing diagnosis” is a data element in the Nursing Minimum Data Set.
A basic unit of identifiable information which can be represented in a database. First name is a data element, as is systolic blood pressure. Should be at the atomic level.
Data Set
A named collection of data elements in which each data element is well-defined. The elements are logically related and arranged in a prescribed manner.
See minimum data set
Disjunctive
A taxonomy in which an entity has only one parent, while a parent can have many children. Many axes in a multiaxial taxonomy are disjunctive. All monoaxial taxonomies are disjunctive, but not all disjunctive taxonomies are monoaxial.The illustration under taxonomy is disjunctive.
Domain
A field of action, thought, or influence that forms the subject-matter of a single science or technology or mode of study.
Granularity
The level of detail that a "term" represents. The more granular a term, the smaller the information that is represented, but also the more definitive the term. A decision that has to be made in selecting a term is how much depth is needed for the purpose of the data collection. Different purposes require different levels of granularity.
"In healthcare, a systematic collection of healthcare related phrases that supports clinicians’ entry of patient-related information into computer programs. Interface terminologies also facilitate display of computer-stored patient information to clinician users as simple human-readable text. Thus interface terminologies “interface” between clinicians’ own unfettered, colloquial conceptualizations of patient descriptors and the more structured, coded internal data elements used by specific clinical computer programs. Interface terminologies allow users to interact easily with concepts through common colloquial terms and synonyms. These terminologies generally embody a rich set of flexible, 'user friendly' phrases." (Quote from Rosenbloom, S. T., Miller, R. A., Johnson, K. B., Elkin, P. L., & Brown, S. H. (2006). Interface terminologies: facilitating direct entry of clinical data into electronic health record systems. Journal of the American Medical Association, 13(3), 277-288 , p 277.)
In simple terms, a standardized terminology that is used by healthcare providers to enter data into a computer. An example is NANDA. See User Interface for more information.
What is presented to the user by the application, that is what the user sees. Often a controlled list of terms selected as options for a particular field in an application. There are no synonyms. The terms presented may be precoordinated and may be more "natural language like" and may represent the local jargon. Should be mapped to a reference terminology. More information.
Language
A set of characters, conventions and rules for conveying information. (ANSI X3-172) Examples include English, Spanish, HTML, XML.
Identifying the concept or concepts with the closest meaning between terminologies. They may or may not be synonyms. For example, a North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) term of "alteration in comfort" will map to pain in the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP). Nursing terms from NANDA, NIC, NOC, CCC, PNDS, and Omaha System are mapped to concepts in SNOMED_CT. To use SNOMED-CT in this reference terminology mode, one must have a license for the interface terminology, NANDA in the example above.
Metadata
Metadata are data that describe other data. The term originates from the Greek meta "after" and Latin data "information." See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata
The minimum categories of data with uniform definitions and categories, that are developed for electronically recording, storing, and transmitting data across organizational and geographic boundaries. They are minimal because they represent the least amount of data believed necessary to capture and transmit the information needed for a given purpose. Example: nursing minimum data set. (Harris, Marcelline R.; Graves, Judith R.; Solbrig, Harold R.; Elkin, Peter L. and Chute, Christopher G. (2000) Embedded structures and representation of nursing knowledge. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 7:539-549 (2000). Some minimum data sets also contain the terms needed to express various concepts such as the UHDDS (Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set) and the NMMDS (Nursing Management Minimum Data Set).
Mono-axial taxonomy
Classification around one concept. See the illustration in taxonomy.
A classification that uses several taxonomies. Terms are created by making selections from more than one axis. The International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) uses a multi-axial taxonomy. The example below is simplified example. The patient, Dot, would be classified as 3A.S.F. As you can see, each character before a dot represents a characteristic. In real life, there would be other codes used.
Nomenclature
A system of designations (terms) elaborated according to pre-established rules. (ISO 1087). Examples include SNOMED CT International and the International Classification for Nursing Practice.
A system for naming things, especially in an area of science.
Nosology
The science of the development of diseases, the term is also used to describe the development of healthcare languages.
Object
Any part of the perceivable or conceivable world (ISO 1087).
Objects can be physical, such as a stethoscope, or an information source such as a data table.
Ontology
Ontology is a term borrowed from philosophy that refers to the science of describing the kinds of entities (things) in the world and how they are related.
An explicit formal specification of how to represent the objects, concepts and other entities that are assumed to exist in some area of interest and the relationships that hold among them.
The hierarchical structuring of knowledge about things by subcategorising them according to their essential (or at least relevant and/or cognitive) qualities. Source: Free Online Dictionary of Computing. [online]. 1997. Ontology.
Available from: http://foldoc.org/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?ontology
A specification that seeks to describe or posit the basic categories and relationships of being or existence to define entities and types of entities within its framework. Ontology can be said to study conceptions of reality. (From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology)
A representational artifact, comprising a taxonomy as a proper part, whose representational units are intended to designate some combination of universals, defined classes, and certain relations between them.
Having complex phrases, or terms that can be separated into other standardized terms, as terms in the terminology; e.g. stage I grade 1 follicular lymphoma.
A term, generally in a standardized terminology, that contains more than one level of detail, such as "chest pain." Each of these terms "chest" and "pain" are one piece of data, often from a standardized list. When they are combined prior to use in a terminology, the term is said to be precoordinated. They are created by the terminology developer(s) and are generally clinically useful. May also be called enumeration. (See Rosenbloom, S. T., Miller, R. A., Johnson, K. B., Elkin, P. L., & Brown, S. H. (2006). Interface terminologies: facilitating direct entry of clinical data into electronic health record systems. Journal of the American Medical Association, 13(3), 277-288.). See post-coordination below.
Post-coordination
Combining two or more canonical (standardized and at atomic level) terms in a terminology to create a more complex phrase; e.g. <stage I> + <grade 1> + <follicular> + <lymphoma> = stage I grade 1 follicular lymphoma. The post coordinated term is not in the terminology, but is post coordinated by a human or application.
A concept that is created by the user by selecting terms from quasi-independent axes that contain atomic concepts. The term "chest pain" could also be post-coordinated if instead of being presented with this term from a list, the user selected "chest" from an axis of location, and "pain" from another axis.(See Rosenbloom, S. T., Miller, R. A., Johnson, K. B., Elkin, P. L., & Brown, S. H. (2006). Interface terminologies: facilitating direct entry of clinical data into electronic health record systems. Journal of the American Medical Association, 13(3), 277-288.)
The difference between pre-coordination and post-coordination is that in pre-coordination the term is often officially sanctioned, therefore easily usable in retrieval. In post-coordination, the term is created outside a given list and can be more difficult to use, or can result in utter nonsense. However, there is a place for both.
Search engines will often consider a document a match to a query when that document is not really relevant to the query. These mistakes happen because search engines, to a certain extent, have to "guess" what the user is looking for - especially when words used in the query have double meanings. Search engines must find a balance between recall (it's ability to find all relevant documents) and precision (it's ability to find only relevant documents). The aim in information retrieval is to get both recall and precision spot-on. In other words to return all relevant documents and nothing else. In the real search engine world however, it is often a trade-off. Precision is scored by dividing the total number of pages found by the number of relevant pages found. For example, if 1000 documents are found and 770 are relevant, the search engine's precision is 0.77 or 77%. You may find that the search engine http://www.hakia.com/ returns quite precise results, especially for scholarly articles.
A measure of a search engine's ability to return all relevant results. Search engines must find a balance between recall and precision (The measure of a search engine's ability to return only relevant results). If there are 10 pages about "blue bananas" in a search engine's database and a search for "blue bananas" returns only 8 of those pages, the recall is scored at 0.8 or 80%. It's important to note that recall has nothing to do with database size. If another search engine has only 3 pages about blue bananas and returns all 3, its recall is 100%, even though there are other relevant documents not included in its database
Reference Information Model (RIM)
A coherent, shared information model that provides a structure for information.
A model is an optimal way of representing something that meets different criteria. See http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore/product.asp?sku=ISO+18104%3A2003 for information about the ISO Nursing Reference Information Model.
A terminology that allows different expressions representing the same concept to be matched to that concept. This allows data that, because of differences in the language used to express a concept to be used in the aggregate, that is as if they were almost the same. For example, if one person entered "blue skin" and another "cyanotic" to express the concept of skin that is blue because of a lack of oxygen, unless mapped by a reference terminology to one term, an electronic database (electronic record) would consider them two entirely different entities. More information.
A reference terminology can potentially:
* Link interface expressions and statistical classifications to their formal, reference definitions.
* Generate compositional expressions from atomic concepts.
* Map between expressions in different terminologies and their formal representations in the reference terminology.
* Compare and harmonize (match) among terminologies.
*From Nursing Terminology Summit 2002 Report to AMIA. (2002). Development, Evaluation, and Use of Reference Terminology for Nursing:Progress Report from the Nursing Terminology Summit. Retrieved October 4, 2006, from http://www.himss.org/content/files/iso-standards/AMIA%202002%20Development%20Evaluation%20final.ppt
Simply, a terminology that aims to link all the terms denoting the same concepts. The primary goal of a reference terminology is to enable data conversion between different schemes. Keep in mind that mapping it not always an exact science.
Standardized Language (terminology)
A collection of terms with definitions for use in informational systems databases. They enable comparisons to be made because the same term is used to denote the same condition. Their development requires a great deal of work and testing. If the data captured are to be useful in improving healthcare practices they are necessary for documentation in electronic health records.
In the concept of the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP), this is a list of agreed upon precordinated terms useful for documenting in a specific area of nursing, such as Obstetrics, or Community Health. Formerly referred to as catalogs. They are currently being developed by various groups and work under the direction of the ICNP group of the International Council of Nurses (ICN).
The systematic ordering, distinguishing and naming of type groups within a subject field according to presumed natural relationships. (ISO 11179-1)
The classification of concepts in an ordered, hierarchical, predetermined system that represents relationships according to a set of "rules." Members of a "group" at the same level are distinguished from one another by stated characteristics. A "term" on a given level has terms (objects, concepts) below it (children), that inherit all the characteristics of their parent, but can be further differentiated by other characteristics.
For example, a taxonomy of plants might include at a high level flowers and trees. A next level under flowers would include roses and orchids. The roses and violets all share (inherit) given criteria that define the high level flower category, but can be further differentiated by other characteristics. Under roses and violets there will be further differentiation based on other criteria. One must remember that all lower categories inherit (that is, possess) ALL the criteria that make up the the categories above them. This is a mono-axial taxonomy, that is it is organized around only one principle. See multi-axial taxonomy.
Term
Designation of a defined concept in a special language by a linguistic expression (ISO 1087). An agreed upon word or words that designate a defined concept.
Terminology
A concept system with designated terms for each concept.
1. The vocabulary of technical terms used in a particular field, subject, science, or art; nomenclature.
2. The study of nomenclature.
A system in which designated words represent a specific concept, usually specific to a discipline.
A representational artifact consisting of representational units which are the general terms of some natural language used to refer to entities in some specific domain.
A set of labels that designate concepts particular to one or more subject fields or domains of human activity. The terms are arrived at through research and analysis of terms in context, for the purpose of documenting and promoting correct usage. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology)
Thesaurus
The vocabulary of a controlled indexing language, formerly organized so that a priori (known, assumed, or self-evident) relationships between concepts (e.g. ‘broader’ and ‘narrower’) are made explicit. Examples include Medical Subject Heading (MESH) terms. (ISO 2788)
A controlled vocabulary arranged in a known order.
In Information Technology, a thesaurus represents a database or list of semantically orthogonal (that is the terms in it are independent of each other in meaning, one does not depend on the other) topical search keys. Orthogonal can also mean that making a change to a component in the database will not affect other parts of the database.
A database of terms that are arranged hierarchically by themes and topics to make retrieval easier. Terms are placed in context so that a user can distinguish between "cold," the flu like illness, and "cold," temperature. They are often the base for an index.
Unified Nursing Language
A system resulting from mapping terms among multiple nursing vocabularies and classification schemes. Was an idea of the past, met its demise when the terminologists could not agree on one terminology for nursing.
A set of terms intended to assist documentation in a healthcare record. May also present to the user additional items that pertain to the term. For example, the term 'cough' could link it with 'breathlessness', 'smoking history' etc. so that, as soon as the user starts talking about 'cough', the interface can pop up some useful suggestions of other things the user might also be expected to want to say.
Vocabulary
Terms from a subject field and their definitions. (ISO 1087).
A set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language.
