Preferred Term

A preferred term (PT) is the description that is deemed to be the most clinically appropriate way of expressing a concept in a clinical record. It represents a common word or phrase used by clinicians to name a concept in clinical practice or in the literature. It is the synonym that is preferred in a language or dialect.

The use of a description can vary between different languages, dialects and contexts. A description may be preferred in some dialects, acceptable in others, and may not be used in some dialects. A Language Reference Set is used to specify the descriptions that are preferred or acceptable in each language or dialect.

A concept may have two descriptions marked as PT, one for each language. 

• For example, 

  {"timestamp":1757977117450,"msg":"A unknown Exception Occurred","errorMsg":"The provided AtlassianHostUser did not specify a user to act as.","code":"500"}
   has:

  • PT: Esophageal structure (US)

  • PT: Oesophageal structure (GB)

A PT for one concept may also be a synonym for another concept.

• For example, 

  • {"timestamp":1757977117431,"msg":"A unknown Exception Occurred","errorMsg":"The provided AtlassianHostUser did not specify a user to act as.","code":"500"}
     has a preferred term of cold

  • {"timestamp":1757977117380,"msg":"A unknown Exception Occurred","errorMsg":"The provided AtlassianHostUser did not specify a user to act as.","code":"500"}
     also has a synonym of cold

The PT is indicated by the acceptabilityId field, for a particular language or dialect.