A knowledge model for the interpretation and visualization of NLP-parsed discharged summaries

Proc AMIA Symp. 2001:339-43.

Abstract

At our institution, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool called MedLEE is used on a daily basis to parse medical texts including complete discharge summaries. MedLEE transforms written text into a generic structured format, which preserves the richness of the underlying natural language expressions by the use of concept modifiers (like change, certainty, degree and status). As a tradeoff, extraction of application-specific medical information is difficult without a clear understanding of how these modifiers combine. We report on a knowledge model for MedLEE modifiers that is helpful for a high level interpretation of NLP data and is used for the generation of two distinct views on NLP-parsed discharge summaries: A physician view offering a condensed overview of the severity of patient problems and a data mining view featuring binary problem states useful for machine learning.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Humans
  • Medical Records Systems, Computerized
  • Natural Language Processing*
  • Patient Discharge*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • User-Computer Interface