Re: [Gnumed-devel] Re: GNUmed and FreeDiams

[Jim Busser]

The list would not accept the attachment, therefore reposted without.

On 2011-01-02, at 6:15 AM, Karsten Hilbert wrote:

>> 2) maybe the Brand is intended to be related (only
>>  indirectly by link table) to Consumable_Substance ONLY AND
>>  EXACTLY where the strength of that Consumable_Substance is a
>>  match to the brand?
> 
> Not "a match" but rather "defined *by*" the (indirect) link
> into consumable_substance.


So… it sounds that in GNUmed a praxis should like to populate:

        consumable_substances
        branded_drug
        lnk-substance2brand

So… what is the best method of populating them? While I *can* provide separate 
files for each of

        branded_drug
        consumable_substances

I am wondering whether the creation of the link records depends on an external 
reference that informs of known relationships (i.e. brands and substances in 
one file). Attached is a screenshot of a merged file (filtered for demo 
purposes to drugs that contain "ramip"). With restrictions removed, the file 
would

        list most substances (even at a given amount and unit) multiple times…
                … once _per_ unique brand drug that contains the substance

I am also noticing that at the same time that the schema says

        unique (description, amount, units)

many of the drugs (apart from ramipril) use INN variant names …

        enalapril maleate
        enalapril sodium

        acebutolol (acebutolol hydrochloride)
        acebutolol hydrochloride

so I am wondering how to handle this. When prescribing, I seldom know enough to 
care which salt… I *could* script a replacement of the names, keying on the 
ATCs (where known) and by this method globally replace with the INN english, 
along with some back substitutions (say, paracetamol to acetaminophen as it's 
known in North America).

Even if I would do this however, there are many other substances that lack ATCs 
by which to resolve and consolidate their names, so shall I simply import these 
other substance descriptions?