Biomedical subjects

Elizabeth S Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Elizabeth S Chen.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Terminology model discovery using natural language processing and visualization techniques.

Medical terminologies are important for unambiguous encoding and exchange of clinical information. The traditional manual method of developing terminology models is time-consuming and limited in the number of phrases that a human developer can examine. In this paper, we present an automated method for developing medical terminology models based on natural language processing (NLP) and information visualization techniques. Surgical pathology reports were selected as the testing corpus for developing a pathology procedure terminology model. The use of a general NLP processor for the medical domain, MedLEE, provides an automated method for acquiring semantic structures from a free text corpus and sheds light on a new high-throughput method of medical terminology model development. The use of an information visualization technique supports the summarization and visualization of the large quantity of semantic structures generated from medical documents. We believe that a general method based on NLP and information visualization will facilitate the modeling of medical terminologies.

Automation↗

PubMed2006

APO A-V-1131T-->C polymorphism frequency and its association with morbidity in a Brazilian elderly population.

Identification of genetic polymorphisms as risk factors for complex diseases affecting older people can be relevant for their prevention, diagnosis and management. The -1131T-->C polymorphism of the apolipoprotein A-V gene (APO A-V) is tightly linked to lipid metabolism and has been associated with increased triglyceride levels and familial dyslipidemia. The aims of this study were to analyze the allele and genotype frequencies of this polymorphism in a Brazilian elderly population and to investigate any association between the polymorphism and major morbidities affecting elderly people. This polymorphism was investigated in 371 individuals, aged 66-97 years, in a Brazilian Elderly Longitudinal Population Study. Major morbidities investigated were: cerebrovascular diseases (CVD); myocardial infarction (MI); type 2 diabetes; hypertension; obesity; dementia; depression; and neoplasia. DNA was isolated and amplified by PCR and its products were digested with restriction enzyme Tru1I. T and C allele frequencies were 0.842 and 0.158, respectively. Our population showed allele frequencies that were similar to European and Afro-American and different from Asiatic populations. Genotype distributions were not within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium only for the obesity subject sample. On the other hand, a significant association between the C allele and obesity in the presence of CVDxdepression interaction was observed. Logistic analysis showed no association of the polymorphism with each morbidity group. Therefore, the C allele in elderly Brazilian subjects may represent a risk factor for these morbidity interactions, which may lead to better comprehension of their pathophysiology.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

An automated approach to studying health resource and infobutton use.

Many studies have found that clinicians require access to medical knowledge sources while viewing data in their patients' health records. To address this need, we have been developing links to various on-line health information resources from our Web-based clinical information system (WebCIS). Clinicians can access these resources through a "Health Resources" Web page or use context-sensitive "infobuttons" that automatically link to specific resources. To assist in understanding how clinicians interact with these two mechanisms, we have been exploring the use of an automated approach to answer questions about usage for guiding the further development of links to resources. In this paper, we discuss the use of a knowledge discovery technique (CIS Usage Mining) to obtain usage statistics from log files that record interactions with health resources and infobuttons in WebCIS, describe a Web-based interface developed to present the results, and summarize how the results could be applied. The availability of effective links to on-line medical knowledge sources from the patient health record can assist in resolving information needs, potentially improving patient care and decision-making.

Access to Information↗

PubMed2004

Approach to mobile information and communication for health care.

Evidence suggests that inadequate access to information and ineffective communication are proximal causes of errors and other adverse events in-patient care. Within the context of reducing these proximal causes of errors, we explore the use of novel information-based approaches to improve information access and communication in health care settings. This paper describes the approaches for and the design of extensions to a clinical information system used to improve information access and communication at the point of care using information-based handheld wireless applications. These extensions include clinical and information resources, event monitoring, and a virtual whiteboard (VWB).

Computers, Handheld↗

PubMed2004

Patterns of usage for a Web-based clinical information system.

Understanding how clinicians are using clinical information systems to assist with their everyday tasks is valuable to the system design and development process. Developers of such systems are interested in monitoring usage in order to make enhancements. System log files are rich resources for gaining knowledge about how the system is being used. We have analyzed the log files of our Web-based clinical information system (WebCIS) to obtain various usage statistics including which WebCIS features are frequently being used. We have also identified usage patterns, which convey how the user is traversing the system. We present our method and these results as well as describe how the results can be used to customize menus, shortcut lists, and patient reports in WebCIS and similar systems.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

PalmCIS: a wireless handheld application for satisfying clinician information needs.

Wireless handheld technology provides new ways to deliver and present information. As with any technology, its unique features must be taken into consideration and its applications designed accordingly. In the clinical setting, availability of needed information can be crucial during the decision-making process. Preliminary studies performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) determined that there are inadequate access to information and ineffective communication among clinicians (potential proximal causes of medical errors). In response to these findings, the authors have been developing extensions to their Web-based clinical information system including PalmCIS, an application that provides access to needed patient information via a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA). The focus was on achieving end-to-end security and developing a highly usable system. This report discusses the motivation behind PalmCIS, design and development of the system, and future directions.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMed2003

Automated discovery of patient-specific clinician information needs using clinical information system log files.

Knowledge about users and their information needs can contribute to better user interface design and organization of information in clinical information systems. This can lead to quicker access to desired information, which may facilitate the decision-making process. Qualitative methods such as interviews, observations and surveys have been commonly used to gain an understanding of clinician information needs. We introduce clinical information system (CIS) log analysis as a method for identifying patient-specific information needs and CIS log mining as an automated technique for discovering such needs in CIS log files. We have applied this method to WebCIS (Web-based Clinical Information System) log files to discover patterns of usage. The results can be used to guide design and development of relevant clinical information systems. This paper discusses the motivation behind the development of this method, describes CIS log analysis and mining, presents preliminary results and summarizes how the results can be applied.

Critical Pathways↗

PubMed2003

Automated identification of shortcuts to patient data for a wireless handheld clinical information system.

Inadequate access to patient information at the point of care has been identified as an impediment to the health care process. To create clinical computing tools that are useful to and used by clinicians, developers of clinical information systems must have accurate models of the users for whom their systems are intended. To create these models, the information needs of clinicians must be understood. While the wireless handheld environment offers many advantages such as the ability to provide mobile access to information, there are a number of challenges. Developing for this environment differs from the laptop and desktop environments due to features such as processing power, screen size, input mechanism, and bandwidth. PalmCIS (Palm-based Clinical Information System) is a clinical application being developed at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) that provides clinicians with access to patient data via a wireless handheld device. We are using an automated technique to uncover patient-specific information needs of clinicians while using a patient record system. With the results, we can enhance PalmCIS.

Computers, Handheld↗

PubMed2003

Development of infobuttons in a wireless environment.

At Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, a clinical information system (CIS) called WebCIS is used by health care providers. We have developed a palm-based extension to WebCIS, called PalmCIS, which provides physicians access to clinical data through a wireless connection. As part of PalmCIS, we have added links to two on-line information resources: PubMed and Micromedex.

Computers, Handheld↗