Quality Improvement Core Framework (v3.3.0: STU 4 Ballot 1). The current version is 3.2.0 based on FHIR R4. See the Directory of published versions
QDM defines "symptom" as an indication that a person has a condition or disease. Some examples include headache, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and pain. Also, symptoms are subjective manifestations of the disease perceived by the patient. As an example to differentiate symptom from finding, the patient’s subjective symptom of fever is distinguished from the temperature (a finding). For a finding, there is either a source of either a temperature-measuring device together with a recorder of the device (electronically) or an individual (healthcare provider, patient, etc.).
Note: Definitions regarding symptom on the FHIR condition resource Boundaries and Relationships (Section 9.2.2: http://hl7.org/fhir/condition.html):
Based on the FHIR referenced provided above, the QDM datatype Symptom maps to the FHIR Observation resource.
QDM Context | QI-Core R4 | Comments |
Symptom | Observation | |
Observation.status | restrict to preliminary, final, amended, corrected | |
Observation.category | add symptom concept | |
QDM Attributes | ||
Code | Observation.value[x] | Use CodeableConcept |
id | Observation.id | |
severity | Observation.interpretation | Definition suggests high, low, normal - perhaps consider severe, moderate, mild. |
prevalence period | Ovservation.effective[x] | dateTime, period, timing, instant |
recorder | Observation.performer |