Overview

This section last updated: 2023-08-15 (1 year ago)

RELMA is the Regenstrief LOINC Mapping Assistant. It is a free Windows-based mapping utility for searching the LOINC database and mapping local codes to LOINC terms.

Use of the LOINC Database

The RELMA program uses a database that includes the LOINC table and other database tables. As indicated in the LOINC License, users may use the LOINC table by itself, but not use the other database tables from the RELMA database (except in conjunction with their use of the RELMA program) without prior written permission from Regenstrief Institute, Inc.

Purpose

The stated goal of the Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC) is to create universal identifiers (names and codes) to be used in the context of existing HL7, ASTM E1238, and CEN TC251 observation report messages. The purpose of the Regenstrief LOINC Mapping Assistant program (RELMA) is to help the user associate, or map, their local terms to the universal LOINC codes.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Here are the hardware / software requirements that are needed to install and run RELMA:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 or greater

Available disk space: 4GB minimum

Required memory: 1GB RAM

Default location of user files: C:(users must have write access to this location)

Administrative access is required to install the program.

No special privileges are required to run the program.

Download

The RELMA program can be downloaded from the LOINC website.

Installation

You should have at least 4 GB of free disk space on your system in order to install the complete package. (The large amount of disk space required is due to the size of the LOINC database.)

You must be logged into an account with Administrative privileges to successfully install RELMA. If you attempt to install the program from a limited account you may receive unexpected and intermittent errors.

WARNING: It is highly recommended that before every installation of the RELMA Program that you back-up your Local Master Observation File (LMOF) database. In a default installation, this file is typically located at:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\RELMA\LMOF3.MDB

The RELMA distribution files are provided in a single compressed ZIP file. After you have successfully downloaded either the LOINC and RELMA package or the RELMA file, you must unzip the files and run RelmaSetup_x.xx.exe to install the RELMA program.

After Installation

When setup completes its work, you are given a short message that the program was installed successfully. Depending on your system configuration, you may be asked to restart your computer.

You may now begin running the RELMA program by going to Start, Programs, Regenstrief, RELMA, and then RELMA. Once you click on RELMA, it should launch and the program will begin to run.