Manuscript Draft: Clinical Descriptions as Semantic Anchors: A Best Practice in OHDSI Phenotype Development

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On Behalf Of The OHDSI Phenotype Development and Evaluation Workgroup

Hello OHDSI Community
General
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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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.