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Guiding Principles:
- The pan Canadian [1] Name will provide a starting point for the development of a standardized viewer name.
- The pan Canadian Name is a result of a specific set of rules applied to the LOINC component name; these rules are in Section 3.1 of the pCLOCD Maintenance Guide.
- Number of characters shall be considered.
- Viewer names shall be unique where necessary.
- In general, when the specimen is assumed, the viewer name shall not include the specimen type. The specimen type is assumed in the following:
- Chemistry – Serum/Plasma
- Allergen – Serum
- Serology – Serum
- Immunology – Serum
- Urinalysis – Urine (only applicable to random urine. Timed samples should be identified)
- Blood Bank – Whole blood
- Hematology - Whole blood
- Microbiology – N/A
- Pathology – N/A
- Toxicology – Serum
- Flow Cytometry – Whole Blood
- When clinically required, the specimen type serum or plasma shall be included. (e.g. Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; Plasma)
- Other specimen types shall be included where clinically significant. (e.g. Glucose; Urine)
- Whole blood specimens containing the word ‘Blood’ such as Arterial Blood shall be differentiated by type only with the exception of those that include Cord Blood. Cord Blood shall remain as Cord Bld. (e.g. Arterial, Venous, Arterial Cord Bld)
- Method should be included where it is significant to the interpretation of the result.
- Common names and not scientific names may be used when generally accepted clinical practise indicates a preference for the common name.
- Acronyms shall be avoided where possible.
- Standardized abbreviations shall be used where feasible e.g. min for minutes (from Unified Codes for Units of Measure).[2] Abbreviations for which there is no standard will strive to be as intuitive as possible.
- Timing shall be included when required.
- When punctuation is required, a semi-colon shall be used to separate components and a coma shall be used for clarification within a component. (e.g. Cadmium; Urine; 24h for semi-colon and Vitamin D, 1,25-Dihydroxy for comas)
- Consistent wording and language may be utilized where possible and on a best effort basis.
- Not all codes in the pCLOCD will be able to fit within a restricted number of characters of less than 50. In those cases, a best possible name shall be provided and it will be up to the implementer to shorten the name to fit their individual requirements.
- To increase the acceptance and adoption of this Viewer Name, a more common name may be included in brackets behind the designated viewer name (e.g. Methylenedioxyamphetamine (Ecstasy)).
- The abbreviation ‘PO’ will not be used in Viewer Names as PO is assumed unless another method is provided as part of the component name.
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