---
title: "Glossary"
slug: "glossary"
updated: 2025-09-04T19:50:22Z
published: 2025-09-04T19:50:22Z
canonical: "docs.imat.io/glossary"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.imat.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

## A-B

**API** Application Programming Interface is a set of routines, protocols and tools for building software applications. It allows different application programs to work with each other and share data.

**appliance** See Perfect Search Appliance

**artifacts API** Using artifact API creates a means of saving report results to files and retrieving the data for later use.

**Boolean search** This is part (or all) of the query expression. Use operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to bind terms and phrases together and parentheses to indicate the beginning and end of the Boolean search.

## C

**CCD** A Continuity of Care Document is a standard of electronic medical document for the exchange of medical information.

**Clinical Reports** Part of the IMAT product used to view results of previously built and saved reports and to view patient data based on those reports.

**codes** These are medical options used to refine the report.

- **section**  

These are medical sections found in a transcribed report, radiology record, or pathology report.
- **subject**  

This is the option to view either the patient information or information on the patient's family.
- **polarity**  

This tells if the subject is positive, negative or unknown for the disease.
- **concepts**  

Medical categories found through cTAKES: e.g., allergy, procedure.
- **certainty**  

The likelihood the information will appear in the report: all certainties, certain, or uncertain.
- **clinical codes**  

Numeric code assigned by the medical community to represent diseases.

**collections** These are groups of either path-based files or sets that allow inclusion or exclusion of documents for searching.

**context** Short for execution context, it provides system information gathered while running a query.

**CSV** Comma Separated Value is a type of file format that has information separated by commas.

**cTAKES** Clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System extracts information from electronic medical records. It identifies medications, diseases, symptoms, and procedures.

**CUI** Concept Unique Identifier is a code assigned by the medical community that identifies a specific concept (symptom, disease, lab, etc.) with a description. Perfect Search pairs this code with a SNOMED code in certain dictionaries.

## D-E

**dataframe** A Pandas object which contains columns and rows to store and process data (much like a large spreadsheet). The rows are individual records while the columns are the categories or fields. It is used for simple but powerful analyses, statistics, graphing and exploring.

**demographics** They provide the basic characteristics of the patient: patient id, age, gender.

**ETL** Extract Transform Load is IMAT Solutions's process of getting raw data into our system by taking data from its original source, cleaning and formatting the data, and then loading it into the search server.

## F

**facets** These are organized perspectives of data. The data is displayed in subsets with counts, which make it easy to acquire more specific results to help discover patterns. Think of them as buckets that can be used to group the data.

**FHIR** Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource is an API for exchanging electronic health records. FHIR is pronounced like fire.

**fictitious data** Data that is entered as a filler in MPI limbo records until correct information can be located. They are specific values that are set by the customers. These can be placeholder names such as baby, john doe, jane doe, mickey mouse, etc. or information such as test or lab.

**fields** Data indexed for better organization in the parse table when fed. Fields are used for limiting and displaying information returned on queries. Some common fields are names, date of birth, account number, gender, date of service.

**FMRN** Facility Medical Record Number. See MRN.

## G

**group** List of users allowed the same privileges with access to the same information. Groups are useful when assigning collections.

**GUID** A Global Unique Identifier tracks the unique values for this field across all stores. GUID fields are most commonly used with a corresponding quicktable to enable field value centric reports or sets (e.g. patient centric reports).

## H

**hit** Record that matches the search criteria.

**HRSN** Health Related Social Needs are non-medical, social, and economic factors that impact an individual's health and well-being. These are often unmet needs that include food, housing, transportation, financial well-being, safety, or utilities. These needs are often addressed by healthcare providers to improve patient health.

**HTTP response code** It is a code that indicates whether or not an HTTP request has been successfully completed. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_status_codes) for more information.

**HTTP verbs** This is also known as HTTP Methods. They indicate the desired action to be performed on the server. The most common verbs for IMAT are PUT, DELETE, GET, POST. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol) for more information.

## I-K

**IMAT** Integrated Medical Analytics Technology

**import** The use of import in a compound report imports modules and functions from another Python source file. It is possible to import specific functions from a module by using the from...import... statement.

**indexer** It enumerates records, creates search stores and places the records in the search stores.

**IP address** Internet Protocol address is a numerical name assigned to each device that connects to the Internet. It is used for identification and interfacing.

**IXML** IMAT uses it to refer to an intermediate XML schema used in the process of creating CCDs. It's what MDHT Restlet needs to build CCDs, QRDA I, QRDA III, and FHIR records.

## L

**launchpad** A customizable launch screen from where an authorized user accesses clinical reports, the report builder, the admin console, saved reports, saved results and more.

**LDAP** Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an Internet protocol that email and other programs use to look up information from a server.

**Limbo** The store in which MPI records are kept when there is not enough information on the person to create an persona for that person.

**LOINC** Logical Observation Identifiers, Names and Codes is the standard for laboratory observations.

## M-N

**MELT** Master External Link Table contains the demographic data extracted from the original clinical record and serves as a central location to manage all clinical records related to the MPI. It is the source of the MPI records for all releases after 8.0.

**metadata** Data that describes and gives information on the query and how it was run: execution time, supplying information about the data, and performing arbitrary functions.

**middleware** Software that allows external applications to communicate with the search server, it is the middle layer that the UI interacts with.

**MPI** Master Patient Index

**MPI link** A link is when human intervention causes two records to be linked together.

**MPI merge** A merge is something that happens when an ADT merge message comes through and is processed by the system.

**MPID** The Master Patient ID is the master ID assigned that encompasses all of the records from the various facilities. This is a number assigned by the IMAT system.

**MRN** A Medical Record Number is a unique identifier assigned to a patient for tracking and lookup purposes. This number is assigned by the facility.

**NiFi** NiFi is the tool used to feed the raw data from customers into the IMAT search server.

**NLP** Natural Language Processing is a process that can be used to identify medical concepts such as problems, symptoms, procedures, and medications from the free text of medical transcriptions and notes. It can identify the appropriate SNOMED and RxNorm codes for each medical concept (which can be mapped to other code sets such as ICD 10) as well as determining the subject (patient or family), polarity (positive or negative), and certainty (certain or uncertain) of each concept. IMAT uses a customized implementation of the open source cTAKES NLP engine, and there are IMAT tools available that enable customers to analyze the output and refine the accuracy of the NLP process.

## O

**OID** The Object ID is a string of numbers that is specific to an assigned object. It is used as a facility identifier for some facilities in the IMAT MPI Search product.

**operator** Characters used in computer programming to instruct the computer to do specific operations. These are usually mathematical operators (+, -, *, /, >, < etc.).

**outputset** See sets.

## P

**Pandas** Pandas is a Python library used for data science and visualization. It is primarily used in dataframes.

**parameter** A restriction used in queries and reports to refine the search and limit information returned in the results.

**parse table** It is an XML formatted configuration file whose purpose is to define a mapping between source data and search fields. It also defines a mapping to a set of summary fields that include the “Extract”.

**Perfect Search Appliance** The user interface used for accessing and evaluating data fed into the search servers. Also called appliance or PSA.

**persona** A persona is all of the collected information on an individual. It includes the demographic information, the MPID number, as well as the PIDs that compose the MPID.

**PHI** Protected Health Information also known as Personal Health Information refers to the data healthcare professionals collect and use to determine appropriate health care. This consists of lab results, demographic information, medical history, treatments, etc.

**PI** The Patient Info is a unique number assigned by the IMAT system that is assigned to each persona record from a facility. It does not replace the facility's MRN.

## Q

**QRDA** Quality Reporting Document Architecture is the data submission standard used for a variety of quality measurement and reporting initiatives.

**query** Think of a query in terms of the definition found in a dictionary: to question or request information. Therefore, a query in the IMAT solutions UI is a request for information from the search server. It is most often referring to a single line within the larger report code that calls information from the server. In most cases it begins with get_hits or get_facets.

**query expression** The only required part of a search. It is comprised of terms, logical operators and parentheses (when doing a Boolean search); terms are grouped together to define what information is to be searched.

## R

**ranked search** Part or all of query expressions, it returns hits in an order that matches the search terms. If a term is found in a heading, it ranks higher than if found in the body or a subheading.

**record** An original document fed into the search server and used for indexing and searching.

**report** On a very basic level, it is a request for information from the search server; it can be combined into an aggregate view of the data in the search server. It can also be a single piece of information that is being requested, a group of similar items that are being requested and combined, or even a collection of unconnected data.

**report builder** Part of the IMAT product used to build reports, use either the single or compound option.

**report, compound** A type of report used for aggregating data, combining multiple queries, performing complex analytics, and creating charts.

**report, single** The type of report used for acquiring reports without the need for the complexity of compound reports.

**REST** Representational State Transfer is a software architectural style that was created to guide the design and development of the architecture for the internet, making it easier for systems to communicate with each other.

**ROI** Release of information form. This is a Part 2 medical form that allows patients to consent to providers sharing behavioral health records.

**RxNorm** A medical database created that consists of all the available medications on the US market.

## S

**saved report** A previously built report saved for later use to eliminate the need to write the same report multiple times.

**saved result** Results from a report saved for later use.

**saving to file** This refers to a read/write function while executing a compound report.

**script** A word referring to the written code of a compound report. It is also used when referring to previously saved reports.

**SDOH** Social Determinants of Health are the non-medical conditions in people's environments where they are born, live, work, learn, and play that influence their health and quality of life.

**search** This is the act of retrieving information in the database.

**search phrase** A group of words contained in quotation marks; use search phrases when the words must be found together when a search is executed.

**search term** A single word, a phrase, or field names with values that are the basic element of any search. Each search must contain at least one search term.

**set** A collection of unordered data that contains no duplicates.

**Python set** A list of unduplicated items of data which can contain multiple types of data. Python sets are used to calculate differences and intersections between other sets.

**system set** A collection of unique data obtained from a search and can be used in future searches. Using a previously created set makes new reports faster and easier.

**snippet** A snippet is an excerpt of the original document containing the search terms and a small amount of surrounding text.

**SNOMED** Systematic Nomenclature Of Medicine is comprehensive clinical terminology that provides codes, terms, synonyms and definitions.

**source data** The place where the information for the queries is obtained; it can be one store or multiple stores.

**SSH** A Secure Shell establishes a secure channel for data communication.

**SSO** Single Sign On allows the user to log into one product and have access to all without having to sign in again for each of the different UIs.

**stderr** Standard error, one of the three connectors of input and output communication channels; it contains all error information written to stderr when the query is executed. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_streams) for more information.

**stdout** Standard output, one of the three connectors of input and output communication channels; it is where the program writes its data. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_streams) for more information.

**stores** A specific set of data created when the data is indexed.

**SUID** A Store Unique Identifier is used to identify unique information within a store only.

**symbols** These create groups of various fields with different names but identical information. Symbols allow for efficient and clean query writing.

## T

**TUI** A Topic Unique Identifier is an alphanumeric code that is correlated with a CUI and a description in one of IMAT's search server dictionaries. It assists in the lookup of the cTAKES dictionary.

**tuple** This is similar to a list but items cannot be interchanged. The entire list must be replaced if a change is needed.

## U-V

**UI** The User Interface allows for effective control of the machine by a person; this is the screen that people see and interact with on a daily basis.

**URL** The Uniform Resource Locator is the web address for a website.

**user** A single person with access to an IMAT Appliance. A user can be assigned to groups.

**VHR** Virtual Health Record is an extension of the IMAT product. It allows users to access patient information (labs, radiology, records, etc.) without giving them access to the entire search server.

## W-Z

**wrapper function** [Wrapper functions](/imat-search-basics#wrapper-functions) are functions created by IMAT Solutions to help with ease and efficiency of writing reports. They condense what would be several lines of code into one function. Sometimes they are referred to as *helper functions*.

**XML** Extendable Markup Language is a file format that is read by both humans and computers.