The following information is applicable to data element concepts only.
The property implemented in this data element concept.
Mandatory completion (before Proposed registration status).
Only one property may be selected.
Unambiguously describe the characteristic to be measured. The properties Treatment cessation reason and Service cessation reason, for example, are preferred over a single, more generic property named Cessation reason because of the need to define ‘what’ is being ceased. The broadly-defined property Abuse and neglect type however, is sufficient, as the categorisation of abuse and neglect can be meaningfully defined independently from the class of abused persons being described e.g. children, disabled persons, elderly persons.
A representation class name is not a valid property. Admission date, Admission time, and Person identifier, for example, are preferred over the more generic properties Date, Time and Identifier because of the need to define ‘what’ the date, time, and identifier describe.
Define the property independently of when and how it is to be collected, and how it is to be represented. For example, Number of cigarettes smoked is preferred over Number of cigarettes smoked per day. Such information may be introduced within a data element or value domain.
Define the property in consideration of how measures of that property are to be reported. For example, the broadly-defined properties Capital expenditure and Recurrent expenditure are preferred over properties which are specific to individual types of expenditure such as Repairs and maintenance expenditure or Depreciation costs, when these items are reported under the broad headings capital/recurrent expenditure. In the case of broad properties which are collected and cross-checked with measures of their individual components, overlapping properties may be defined. For example, the property Postal delivery point identifier (commonly termed address) may be defined alongside its components e.g. State/Territory identifier; Postcode.