A patient's birth date and gender documented in the health record are examples of data ________.

A patient's birth date and gender documented in the health record are examples of data elements. Data elements refer to the individual pieces of information that are collected and recorded in a health record. Each data element serves a specific purpose within the context of a patient's clinical documentation, contributing to the overall structure and content of health information.

Data elements like a patient's birth date and gender are fundamental components that are necessary for various healthcare processes, including patient identification, demographic analysis, and healthcare decision-making. They are standardized and structured pieces of data that help ensure consistency and accuracy in health record-keeping.

In contrast, other options like 'map,' 'dictionary,' and 'definition,' relate to different concepts. A map might refer to a visual representation of data relationships, a dictionary usually refers to a repository of terms and their meanings, while a definition provides an explanation of what a particular term means. Thus, the term that best fits the description of the individual items mentioned (birth date and gender) is 'element.'