I am confused by the component ‘Observation’. Especially for CBC panel member MCV. Additionally MCH and MCHC have changed to component ‘Hemoglobin’. What is the criteria for a component changing to ‘Observation’? I thought a component was supposed to represent what is being measured or observed. Measuring or observing ‘Observation’ is confusing. I noticed this due to consuming content by applying component constraints, but now we have a component of Observation that I am unsure of the criteria for. I thought the Order/Observation status indicated Order, Observation, or Both. Please except my apologies if this has already been communicated somewhere, but any help or guidance is very much appreciated. Thanks.
Hello Kurt! Great to hear from you. The LOINC / SNOMED CT collaborative work has required some changes to the construction of LOINC terms. They started in v2.79 August 2024. You’ll probably notice in combination with the generalized component Observation, there may be a change to the property that indicates what is being measured. The Long Common Name still contains the original content, so online searching should find what is needed. In the LOINC database, see the column CHANGE_REASON_PUBLIC for more information. What else may we help you with?
Thanks for your reply, Pam. This page in our Knowledge Base may help explain some of these changes as result of the collaboration. Knowledge Base – LOINC
