Introduction to Value Sets
A value set, also know in Epic as a "grouper", is a collection of codes that represent a clinical concept, such as medications, diagnoses, procedures, etc. Value sets are essential to clinical decision support and quality measurement and reporting, and can be built for almost anything. In the video below, Dr. Scott Nelson introduces value sets and how to build one in Epic. He also discusses how to source existing value sets from various resources, introduces the concept of ontologies and hierarchies, and key considerations to keep in mind when creating and maintaining value sets.
Creating Value Sets for Medications
There is no shortage of codes available to describe a medication, which can make things very confusing. In the video below, Dr. Nelson introduces RxNorm which is a naming system that helps standardize all these codes from various sources and puts them into an ontology of related concepts. He demonstrates how to use RxNav to visualize more information about a given medication, and how to use Epic to build a medication grouper based on features like pharmaceutical subclass, RxNorm codes, or route. Dr. Nelson also shares some key considerations and recommendations for creating and using medication value sets.
Creating Value Sets for Diagnoses
In the video below, Dr. Nelson discusses how to create value sets for diagnoses, which are generally composed of ICD-9, ICD-10, and SNOMED CT codes, though SNOMED CT is most recommended. He demonstrates how to use the SNOMED CT browser to look up hierarchies related to a given condition and then use those in Epic to build a new value set. Dr. Nelson also shows how to add metadata to a grouper in Epic to document additional information about the grouper which can be used for reporting purposes, establish ownership, and help with maintenance of the grouper. He also gives some key considerations to follow for creating and using diagnoses value sets.