Types and purposes of SLE definitions used by different stakeholders. The types of definitions, illness models, modes of diagnosis and time considerations are described in the text
| Stakeholder | Purpose of naming a diagnosis | Definition | Illness model | Mode | Time limited? |
| Payer | Determine reimbursement. | Exclusive | Separate | Binary | Yes |
| Administrator | Count affected persons. | Exclusive | Separate | Binary | Yes |
| Epidemiologist | Count affected persons. | Inclusive or exclusive | Separate >linear | Binary | Yes |
| Clinical researcher | Identify homogeneous populations to identify risk, measure outcomes, study mechanisms, develop and test treatments. | Exclusive | Separate | Binary | Yes |
| Basic/translational researcher | Identify affected persons to study mechanisms and/or causes. | Inclusive or exclusive | Separate or linear | Binary or scalar | Yes or no |
| Editor | Classify published articles. | Inclusive or exclusive | Separate or linear | Not considered | Not considered |
| Physician | Identify cause of symptoms, prognosticate and treat. | Inclusive | Linear | Scalar | No |
| Patient | Know prognosis, choose among diagnostic and treatment options. | Inclusive | Linear | Scalar | No |