Patient-Friendly Names
Translate clinical codes into language patients can understand. The resolver prefers MEDLINEPLUS names, falls back to CHV (Consumer Health Vocabulary), then to the shortest active atom.
Quick example
import medterm4ds as mt
terms = mt.connect("/path/to/umls.duckdb")
result = terms.patient_friendly("SNOMEDCT_US", "44054006")
print(result.name) # "Diabetes Type 2"
What you get
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
code | The code | "44054006" |
name | Canonical display | "Type 2 diabetes mellitus" |
friendly_source | Where the friendly name came from | "MEDLINEPLUS" |
match_type | How it was resolved | "exact", "broader", "same_cui" |
cui | UMLS Concept ID | "C0011860" |
Resolution strategies
The patient-friendly resolver walks the source hierarchy to find the most consumer-comprehensible display name for any code.
- Exact: same-CUI match to MEDLINEPLUS/CHV
- Broader: walks up the hierarchy to find a parent with a friendly name
- Same CUI: SNOMED-to-target mapping via shared concept
- Original: falls back to the source's preferred term