Searches for Descriptions or Concepts may need to be constrained by Reference Sets. Applications should allow searches to be filtered, ordered or otherwise prioritized in accord with one or more active Reference Sets. Specifically, the search mechanism should support the following functions with respect to the following types of Reference Sets:
- A Simple Reference Set may be used to filter, sort or highlight the results of text search or hierarchical navigation. This may simplify or encourage selection of Concepts or Descriptions used in a particular country, organization or specialty.
- A Simple Reference Set or an Ordered Reference Set may be used to specify or order the valid Concepts for entry in a particular field.
Reference Set may also be used to exclude subsets of Concepts and Descriptions that are not relevant or appropriate in browsers and in-built search functionalities. For example, it may be beneficial for the search not to return any members of the non-human Reference Set, unless the search is explicitly customized to include them.
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