Using Logical Models with conman Scenario Builder

The scenario builder in conman is intended to allow you to build ‘graphs’ of resources to tell some clinical story – or scenario. By default it uses instances of core resource types (though profile support is on the road map), but you can also use instances of logical models that have been created in the clinFHIR Logical Modeller as well.

The main reason why you would do this, to to be able to add elements to a resource instance that is not in the core resource. This will become an extension in a ‘real’ resource, but it’s handy to be able to do this ahead of creating the extension (and the definition) to make sure that the new element is needed – and validate properties like the data type, multiplicity & so forth. You might also do this is proposing a change to the core specification as well.

However, it’s important to remember that instances of these models will not be saved on a FHIR server – the elements will either be dropped or the instance rejected, depending on the server.

The overall process to do this is as follows:

1. Build the model using the clinFHIR Logical Modeler. Generally, you’d base the model on a core type and amend as desired.
2. Add the model to the scenario
3. Build the scenario

Lets look at each of these steps.

1. Build the model

2. Add the model to the scenario

This is done in the scenario definition (and must be added here before being used in a graph). In the ‘types’ tab, there is a section for Logical models just below the core types. There’s a plus (‘+’) symbol to the right, clicking that will bring up the following dialog:

The drop down will show all the Logical models that have been created on the conformance server defined in the track description. Selecting one of these, along with a brief description is the easiest way to add the model.

However, if the model you want is not on the conformance server, then you can add a url to it manually in the second box. Note this is the direct url to the model – conman will attempt to load it directly from that location. This has the advantage that it doesn’t need to be on a FHIR server, as long as it is directly accessible (Though you do need the full url).

If you update the model after adding it to the scenario, then you don’t need to add it again – the most recent version is always used when adding an instance to a graph (see note below).

3. Build the scenario

This is the same as using core types – you just select the model rather than the core type in the selector, and it works in the same way as a core type with respect to adding data and creating references. But there are a few things to watch out for.

• The structure of the model in the graph is the structure as it exists when it is added to the graph. If you update the model after adding it, it will NOT be updated.

Making comments on Logical Models in conMan

When using the conMan Logical model review application, it’s possible for a user to make a note against an element in the form (in fact, collecting these comments is a primary purpose for perfoming the review. Here’s an example where a note has been entered against the reportIdentifier field:

If you want to review the notes that users have made, then select the ‘Summary of LM Review’ tab. There are 2 views possible:

• A combined view of all notes made by all reviewers for all scenarios
• Notes by all reviewers for a single scenario

In either case, the first thing to do is to click the ‘Refresh’ button to the upper right. This will collect the appropriate reviews from the server, and collate the display. This can be a lengthy process, especially for the combined view. Here’s an example from the New Zealand ‘Adverse Reactions’ project:

You can see that this is presented as a table with the elements that had had notes made as rows, and individual reviewers notes in columns. Note that in the combined view (which is the first tab) the comments are ‘aggregated’ by the element path – regardless of which scenario the user entered the comment into.

It is possible for someone to make a comment against a note. This is useful when the note requires clarification or can be explained. If comments have been made for a note, then the number of comments is displayed as a ‘badge’ to the right of the note. To see the comments, simply move the mouse over the cell and the comments will be displayed in a popup like this:

There can be any number of comments against a note. To see more detail of the comment (like when it was made) click the mouse while the popover is displayed, and an edit dialog appears.

This shows the further details, and also allows a new comment to be entered.