How are the i2b2 query ontologies constructed?
The query ontologies used in the workbench are largely based on the data available. Our diagnoses data are coded in ICD-9 (with IMO extensions), so that is the hierarchy we use in the workbench. The same holds true for procedures. With our medication and laboratory data, it is not coded in terminology with a standard hierarchy, so we had to organize the data using other methods. We are working with colleagues in Health Information Management (HIM) to create a set of terms based on the billing information found in the Hospital’s coding and abstraction guidelines. In addition, when we receive data that employs other hierarchies, like SNOMED, for instance, we will add those terms to our query tool. As we integrate individual research databases, or registries such as DocSite, we plan to add a series of self-contained branches to the ontology that will include all the terms that might be used by the investigator to query that set of patients. In the case of DocSite, that would include all o
