Class: Condition_node

Description of: Condition_node

Class steward is Patient Care
The condition node service type is used to represent problems (medical conditions.) The primary purpose of the condition node is to arrange other services of the patient record into a longitudinal thread that represents the patient’s condition. Condition nodes are lined up along the time axis through links of type updates condition. Thus, a Condition node instance is not a condition or problem in itself, the condition is the entire thread or network of chain-linked condition nodes.

Each condition node represents a revision of the problem in the form of added evidence, or changing of the "name" assigned to the problem. A "name" is assigned to a problem thread by a condition node that binds another observations (diagnosis) to the thread. Consequently, conditions may change their "names" over time to represent the progression of disease, and the changing of knowledge about the disease.

A condition thread may have more than one current name. Consequently, conditions may accumulate names over time as different practitioners develop opinions or descriptions of the condition. It will not be unusual that these names may be in conflict with one another, such as when two clinicians disagree about the nature of a condition. In addition, these names may also change over time to represent the progression of disease or the changing of knowledge about the disease.

Association definitions for: Condition_node

defines (0,1) :: Episode_of_condition :: is_defined_by (1,1)