Ordered reference sets can be used to specify and display a customized navigation hierarchy. Alternative hierarchical representations of SNOMED CT can support data entry by addressing some of the challenges related to the poly-hierarchical and unordered structure of the subtype hierarchy of SNOMED CT.
Ordered reference sets can be used to specify and display a customized navigation hierarchy. The figure below shows the way a navigation hierarchy is represented. The example reference set contains a set of concepts used to describe x-ray examinations of the upper and lower limbs. The resulting navigation hierarchy might usefully be extended to include other x-ray procedures but has been kept small for the purposes of the example.
Navigation Hierarchy example. SNOMED CT concepts can be organized in an alternative hierarchical view using an Ordered reference set.
Aside from providing an alternative hierarchical order, different features can be added to increase the usability of the reference set:
- Usability constraints can be placed on the number of levels in the hierarchy and the number of options displayed at each level in the navigational hierarchy:
- If there are relatively few options and many layers, the most common options can be brought to a higher level.
- If there are long lists of options, these may be subdivided with less frequent options moved to lower levels.
- Options that are rarely or never used by a particular user community can be excluded from a navigational hierarchy to limit the range of choices. According to requirements, these options may remain accessible by switching to a subtype view.
- Options at each hierarchical level can be ordered to meet the expectations of users and/or to facilitate rapid access to commonly used options.
- The available options at a particular level can be kept stable across releases without affecting the accuracy of the subtype hierarchy.
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