Granularity of elements

The problem of whether or not single element containing a certain number of items should be subdivided into multiple elements each containing one item of information only will occur for many records. For example, whether the given name and the family name are single element or are subdivided into two elements. Before determining whether or not subdivision is appropriate, ideally the granularity should correspond to that of the MML. In practice it is difficult to have an optimum level of subdivision. To minimize mismatching when converting information from the local database to the MML instance, the MML has been designed to have different granularity for particular elements. For this function, the following elements are available:

 

1. Full address (1.1. mmlAd:full) or divided address (1.2. mmlAd:prefecture, 1.3. mmlAd:city, 1.4. mmlAd:town, 1.5. mmlAd:homeNumber) in the address expression format
   
   
2. Full name (5.4. mmlNm:fullname) or divided name (5.1. mmlNm:family, 5.2. mmlNm:given, 5.3. mmlNm:middle) in the name expression format
   
   
3. Series of diagnoses in the diagnosis information (1.1. mmlRd:diagnosis) or divided diagnoses (1.2. mmlRd:diagnosisContents)
   
   
4. Free notes (1.3.1. mlFcl:freeNotes) or past history item (1.3.2. mmlFcl:pastHistoryItem) in the initial-consultation-specific information
   
   
5. Free expression (1.1. mmlPc:FreeExpression) or structured expression (1.2. mmlPc:structuredExpression) in the progress course information
   
   
6. Free notes (1.2.1.2.1. mmlPc:freeNotes) or subjective item (1.2.1.2.2. mmlPc:subjectiveItem) in the progress course information - Sbj information
   
   
7. Series of surgery method expressions (1.1.3.1.1. mmlSg:operation) or surgery operation elements (1.1.3.1.2. mmlSg:operationElement) in the surgery record information

 

If conversion to the MML instance is successful, conversion from the MML instance to the local database greatly depends on the granularity of the information in the local database. If there is mismatching as a result of the granularity of the information, attention must be paid to prevention of data loss. When the granularity of the information in the MML is not detailed (not subdivided), it is generally difficult to achieve correct conversion. When the granularity in the MML is detailed (subdivided), a method to transfer the data with tags is also available to prevent loss of data.