Structured Abstract

Contents

• Preface
• Key Informants
• Acknowledgments
• Peer Reviewers
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Purpose of This Report
• Methods
  • General Approach
  • Literature Review
  • Key Informant Interviews
  • Tools Catalog
• Results
  • Overview
  • Literature Review
  • Key Informant Interviews
  • Identification of Individual Text-Mining Tools
• Discussion
  • What Was Known and What This Paper Adds
  • Challenges and Barriers
  • Pragmatic Considerations
  • Strengths and Limitations
  • Future Directions
• Conclusions
• References
• Appendix A Search Strategies
• Appendix B Interview Guide
• Appendix C Key Informant Interview Themes
• Appendix D Key Informant Comments on Specific Text-Mining Tools
• Appendix E Tools Catalog

Prepared for: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services¹, Contract No. 290-2012-00004-C (SRC), 290-2012-00009-I (Vanderbilt), 290-2012-00011-I (ECRI). Prepared by: Scientific Resource Center, Portland, OR

Suggested citation:

Paynter RA, Bañez LL, Berliner E, Erinoff E, Lege-Matsuura J, Potter S, Uhl S. EPC Methods: An Exploration of the Use of Text-Mining Software in Systematic Reviews. Research White Paper. (Prepared by the Scientific Resource Center and the Vanderbilt and ECRI Evidence-based Practice Centers under Contract Nos. 290-2012-00004-C [SRC], 290-2012-00009-I [Vanderbilt], and 290-2012-00011-I [ECRI].) AHRQ Publication 16-EHC023-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; April 2016. www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/reports/final/cfm.

This report is based on research conducted by the Scientific Resource Center, Vanderbilt, and ECRI Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPC) under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD (Contract Nos. 290-2012-00004C [SRC], 290-2012-00009I [Vanderbilt], and 290-2012-00011I [ECRI]). The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the authors, who are responsible for its contents; the findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of AHRQ. Therefore, no statement in this report should be construed as an official position of AHRQ or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

None of the investigators have any affiliations or financial involvement that conflicts with the material presented in this report.

The information in this report is intended to help health care decision makers—patients and clinicians, health system leaders, and policymakers, among others—make well-informed decisions and thereby improve the quality of health care services. This report is not intended to be a substitute for the application of clinical judgment. Anyone who makes decisions concerning the provision of clinical care should consider this report in the same way as any medical reference and in conjunction with all other pertinent information, i.e., in the context of available resources and circumstances presented by individual patients.

AHRQ or U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorsement of any derivative products that may be developed from this report, such as clinical practice guidelines, other quality enhancement tools, or reimbursement or coverage policies may not be stated or implied.

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