Authoring
Authoring is the process of defining the relationship between concepts in the source code system and the target code systems.
Authors can assign none, one, or more target codes to a source code and assign a relationship type.
When assigning a target code, authors need to consider the map's use case and purpose, as well as the code system's structure, rules, term composition, and granularity.
Automated mapping tools
Once data has been pre-processed, automated mapping tools may be useful.
Automated mapping is the use of computer algorithms to create mappings between code systems.
Lexical mapping is the process of comparing and analyzing the structure of words in a clinical term to determine whether they are the same, similar, or different, and is often incorporated into automatic mapping.
Maps generated by a tool need to be checked by a map specialist. Significant care must be taken with automated mapping, as severe errors can result if not done in a controlled manner.
Automated mapping, in conjunction with human review (and manual remapping where necessary), is likely to achieve better results than automated mapping alone.
Appropriate filters or scope constraints should be applied to the tool to improve the accuracy of the automated mapping tools. A record of the tool, the scope constraint and matches should be kept to test the reproducibility of methods
Manual/human mapping
Human mapping is the use of human knowledge and skill to author maps. Each map is built singularly. The process requires examination of each and every concept in the coding system. Informed judgments or decisions are made about the shared meaning of concepts. Electronic or computational tools may be used, but only in support of the work process.
There are some tools available to assist in this process. Manually mapping into tables without tooling support (e.g., spreadsheets) is time-consuming and error-prone because it requires copying and pasting from a browser into the table.
Editorial guidelines
Defining firm guidelines for mappers will save time and go a long way towards ensuring higher inter-rater reliability in situations with more than one mapper. These guidelines will also be valuable for highlighting why certain target concepts were chosen over others. Editorial Guidelines are very important to map users and are a necessary step in the creation of useful, reliable, and usable maps.
Also, a map is not necessarily static; future versions of a map may require changes to decisions or rules, which need to be clearly defined and applied consistently.
Organising your terms by grouping together terms of a similar nature, for example, all terms referring to fractures together, all the diabetes terms together, can make the mapping process easier and aid in the consistency of the maps. Once this is done, also consider if the source code system contains terms that might be considered “synonyms” or duplicates of other terms.
It may be possible to request new content from the code system suppliers (e.g. SNOMED International) to deliver a better map
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