Questions on the Conditions A-Z API

NHS Website Content API
1

Hi,

I have a use case where I want to present a user with a comprehensive list of medical conditions, that the user can select from on a website. An idea is to use the conditions A-Z API as the backing dataset for that list. Namely the one documented here:

https://digital.nhs.uk/developer/api-catalogue/nhs-website-content/v2#get-/conditions

I have a number of questions to ask on this if I may…

  1. SNOMED-CT Code Values**.** I have seen on the JSON I have pulled from the sandbox environment that each condition has a section:
{
  "@type": "MedicalCode",
  "codeValue": "",
  "codingSystem": "SNOMED-CT"
}

however in all the sandbox data I see no entires for ‘codeValue’ for any of the conditions. I note that the sandbox api only features a subset of the full conditions A-Z list, namely just 2 pages.

Is this the case in the PRD API, i.e. is there no code-value for any of the conditions, or is there a code value for some or even all of them?

I note however that for example in the case of: “Acanthosis nigricans” from the conditions list, this is a generic name covering lots of sub-types of the condition. My research has found that the sub-types each have their own SNOMED-CT code but there is not one for the overarching generic name. So maybe the PRD API has SNOMED-CT codeValues for some but not all of the conditions listed in the list?

  1. Updates to the Conditions List data-set

I note on the sandbox data, there is a top-level “dateModified” field.

Can you confirm that this is the case:

  • If I pull the conditions list and this field has not changed since I last pulled it, then the contents of the conditions list have not changed in any way since I last pulled it?

With respect to any updates that occur:

  • Will the updates ever change the name field of a condition? ( see highlighted on below image). Note that I am hoping that this is not the case as, in the absence of a medical code against each condition, there is no other unique identifier for a condition other than it’s name. For the use-case I have I need to be able to definitively have a unique identifier for a given condition, that is consistent for the long-term future.
  • If you can guarantee that the name field will NEVER change that will be ideal but if there is any possible chance that it might change it will affect our process for keeping the list up to date, hence this is quite a crucial point. Maybe it is the case that if you do change the name of a condition, can you guarantee that the former name will appear in the “alternateName” field, as also highlighted on the below image?

image
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  • Can you give a general overview on the kind of updates that will occur over time? I am only interested in the “name” field and “alternateName” array. I would assume that you might add/ remove conditions from the list, add / remove / change “alternateName” and potentially change the “name” field for a condition. For example, in recent years, “Asperger’s Syndrome” has now become an archaic name and the correct term is “Autism Spectrum Disorder”.
  1. Timescale for onboarding and obtaining a PRD API Key

I note that the API documentation discusses an onboarding process, are you able to give a rough timescale for this process? E.g. how long will it roughly take from commencing the onboarding process to the point of having an API key?

Many thanks for your help with this!

2

Note, I was only able to post one image in my question, this is a screenshot highlighting the top-level “dateModified” field that I refer to, thanks.

image
image964×628 64.4 KB

3

Is anyone available to give a response on the above question? :grinning_face: