The OBSERVATION_FACT table has six columns associated with values. This section contains additional information about each of these columns that contain value related data.
OBSERVATION_FACT Value Columns |
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VALTYPE_CD |
TVAL_CHAR |
NVAL_NUM |
VALUEFLAG_CD |
UNITS_CD |
OBS_BLOB |
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N |
E (equal) |
Actual numeric value of object |
H (high) |
Units associated with object |
Misc. encrypted information |
]]></ac:plain-text-body></ac:structured-macro> |
T |
Actual short text value of object |
N/A |
A (abnormal) |
Units associated with object |
Misc. encrypted information |
]]></ac:plain-text-body></ac:structured-macro> |
B |
N/A |
N/A |
X (encrypted) |
N/A |
Raw text |
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NLP |
N/A |
N/A |
X (encrypted) |
N/A |
NLP result XML |
VALTYPE_CD Column
The VALTYPE_CD defines what type of object is being stored in the remaining value columns. The possible values are:
Value |
Description |
@ |
No value |
N |
Numeric objects such as those found in lab tests |
T |
Text objects such as labels, short message, enumerated values |
B |
Raw text objects such as a doctor's note, discharge summary, and radiology report |
NLP |
NLP result xml objects |
TVAL_CHAR Column
The TVAL_CHAR column is used in conjunction with the VALTYPE_CD column. The information stored in the TVAL_CHAR column is dependent on what the VALTYPE_CD is for the object.
VALTYPE_CD = "T"
- The text value associated with the CONCEPT_CD is stored.
VALTYPE_CD = "N"
- If an operator is associated with the numeric value then it is stored in the VALTYPE_CD.
The operators are:
Operator |
Description |
E |
Equal |
NE |
Not equal |
L |
Less than |
LE |
Less than and Equal to |
G |
Greater than |
GE |
Greater than and Equal to |
NVAL_NUM Column
If the VALTYPE_CD = "N" then the actual numeric value associated with the CONCEPT_CD is stored in the NVAL_NUM.
VALUEFLAG_CD Column
The VALUEFLAG_CD column is for storing flags associated with an object. It is usually seen used with a lab object to indicate that a lab value is high or low. It may also be used in conjunction with VALTYPE_CD = "B" or "NLP" to indicate encrypted data in the OBSERVATION_BLOB column.
The possible values are:
Value |
Description |
@ |
No value |
A |
Abnormal |
H |
High |
L |
Low |
X |
Blob column is encrypted |
UNITS_CD Column
The UNITS_CD column stores the units associated with the object, such as mmol/l. It is usually used for lab test values.
OBSERVATION_BLOB Column
The OBSERVATION_BLOB column stores large text objects such as raw text (B) or NLP results (NLP). For these types of objects, the VALUEFLAG_CD indicates whether or not the data is encrypted. Other objects (numeric or short text) may store miscellaneous information about the object. For these objects (N, T) the data in this field defaults to encrypted.
1 Comment
Mark Abajian
In the section "TVAL_CHAR column" it says
VALTYPE_CD = "N"
I believe it should say "...it is stored in the TVAL_CHAR."
A little further down, it should say:
"less than or equal to" instead of "less than and equal to"
and
"greater than or equal to" instead of "greater than and equal to"
In the section for "VALUEFLAG_CD column", the entry for "N | Normal" is missing from the table.
Wonderful wiki and wonderful page. Thank you! I hope this proves helpful.