Chart Decoder — Phase 1

A medical terminology game for health informatics students and IT professionals new to health. Learn the language of the chart, one condition at a time. Phase 1 starts with hypertension (HTN).

What's in Phase 1

• Bootcamp: an optional warm-up on word parts, common abbreviations and how a note is organized
• Decoder mode: see a term in a chart line and pick its meaning (and sometimes the reverse)
• Grid sort mode: sort terms into categories (disease, medication, sign/symptom, lab/test, abbreviation)
• Progression: Basic → Intermediate → Advanced. Score 80% or better on a decoder round to move up. Missed terms come back later in the round and show up more often in future rounds; about 20% of each round reviews earlier levels.
• Filters: condition, category and level
• Personal bests, saved in the player's own browser (no accounts)

Project files

index.html               page shell
styles.css               look and feel (light and dark mode)
app.js                   game engine; settings are in CONFIG at the top
content/
  terms.csv              the terms the game plays with (exported from the master term list)
  terms-fallback.js      backup copy of terms.csv for opening the page straight from disk
  bootcamp.js            bootcamp units: word parts, abbreviations, note sections
  Chart_Decoder_Master_Term_List.xlsx   the master term list you edit
tools/
  sync_fallback.py       refreshes terms-fallback.js after you update terms.csv

Run it in VS Code

1. Open this folder in VS Code (File → Open Folder).
2. Install the Live Server extension if you haven't.
3. Right-click index.html → Open with Live Server. The game opens in your browser and reloads when you save.

Opening index.html directly (double-clicking) also works, but it uses the backup copy of the terms instead of terms.csv.

Add or change terms

1. Edit the Terms sheet in content/Chart_Decoder_Master_Term_List.xlsx. Keep the column headers as they are.
2. Export that sheet as CSV (File → Save As → CSV UTF-8) and save it over content/terms.csv.
3. Optional: run python tools/sync_fallback.py so the backup copy matches.

A new condition (e.g., DM) appears in the game once it has at least 8 of its own terms. Terms marked Condition = All appear in every condition, and All abbreviations also feed the bootcamp.

To hide unverified terms, set includeStatuses: ["Verified"] in CONFIG in app.js.

Publish on GitHub Pages

1. Commit and push this folder to a GitHub repo.
2. In the repo on GitHub: Settings → Pages → Build and deployment → Deploy from a branch, choose main and / (root), then Save.
3. Your game will be live at https://<your-username>.github.io/<repo-name>/ within a minute or two.

Sources

Terms are drawn from ICD-10-CM (diagnoses), RxNorm (medications) and example clinical notes. Starter rows are drafts: verify each against its source.