On Behalf Of The OHDSI Phenotype Development and Evaluation Workgroup
Hello OHDSI Community
General
,
We would value additional input and collaborators. Our manuscript draft is available for review here:
Manuscript Draft (SharePoint link)
Below is a brief summary of our key points:
-
Clinical Descriptions Enable Shared Understanding
- A written clinical description promotes a shared understanding among researchers, specifying precisely which patient population or health state the cohort represents.
-
They Guide and Justify Algorithm Choices
- By clarifying both what a cohort is and what it is not, clinical descriptions serve as a roadmap for algorithm construction and help justify the inclusion/exclusion criteria.
-
They Reduce Misclassification and Improve Validity
- A well-specified clinical description allows rigorous validity checks and helps confirm that a cohort’s characteristics match the intended clinical target.
-
They Enhance Transportability Without Undermining Validity
- Rooting cohort definitions in the clinical concept, rather than database nuances, creates data-source–agnostic definitions adaptable to varied settings.
-
They Are an OHDSI Community Best Practice
- Phenotype Phebruary, the Phenotype Development Workgroup, and the OHDSI Phenotype Library all emphasize the importance of clinical descriptions before algorithm construction.
-
Implications for Real-World Evidence, Reproducibility, Reliability, and Trust
- “Clinical description first” improves RWE reproducibility and reliability, enabling transparent, trustable methodology and more consistent research outcomes.
How You Can Help
- Review the Draft: Please take a look at the manuscript at the SharePoint link above and offer any comments or suggestions.
- Share Use Cases: If you have examples of how clinical descriptions improved (or could have improved) your own phenotype development, we’d love to hear them.
- Join as a Collaborator: If you’re interested in actively contributing, let us know, and we can schedule additional writing or working sessions.
Our goal is to develop a community-driven statement that reflects the breadth of OHDSI’s collective expertise.