Synonyms
Clinical classifications; Clinical nomenclatures; Clinical terminologies
Definition
An ontology is a formal representation of a set of heterogeneous concepts. However, in the life sciences, the term clinical ontology has also been more broadly defined as also comprising all forms of classified terminologies, including classifications and nomenclatures. Clinical ontologies provide not only a controlled vocabulary but also relationships among concepts allowing computer reasoning such that different parties, like physicians and insurers, can efficiently answer complex queries.
Historical Background
As the life sciences integrates increasingly sophisticated systems of patient management, different means of data representation have had to keep pace to support user systems. Simultaneously, the explosion of genetic information from breakthroughs from the Human Genome Project and gene chip technology have further expedited the need for robust, scalable platforms for handling...
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Lussier, Y.A., Chen, J.L. (2018). Clinical Ontologies. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_62
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_62
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