PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Natural language processing to extract social risk factors influencing health

New system from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University overcomes challenges of generalizability and portability

2023-08-21
(Press-News.org) INDIANAPOLIS – Social risk factors such as financial instability and housing insecurity are increasingly recognized as influencing health. But unlike diagnosis codes, prescription information, lab or other test reports, social risk factors do not adhere to standardized, controlled terminology in a patient’s electronic medical record, making this information difficult to extract from the clinical notes where they typically are found.

A new study has found that a natural language processing (NLP) system developed by Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health informaticians showed excellent performance when ported to a new health system and tested on more than six million clinical notes of patients seen in Florida. Performance was evaluated for generalizability and portability, defined as ease and accuracy when deploying the software in a new environment and of updating its use to meet the needs of new data.

“Social factors have a great impact on our health. It's not just the medical care that we receive, but it's also the places where we live, the places where we work and our access to food and transportation and other resources that have a major influence on our health,” said Chris Harle, PhD, the Regenstrief and IU Fairbanks School faculty member who is senior author on the study. “It's important for the clinicians and health systems providing medical care to know about people's social risk factors so when prescribing medications, ordering tests or planning to perform a procedure, they can better treat the whole person -- perhaps with lower cost drugs or alternative sources for tests -- and can also link them to services that help address their needs for a safe place to live and healthy food to eat.”

In this study, the researchers’ NLP rule-based model searched through text that physicians or other clinicians had written in the clinical notes of patients’ electronic health records, looking for key words or phrases that were likely to indicate difficulty with housing (for example: lack of permanent address) or financial needs (for example: inability to afford follow-up care) of patients at a healthcare system in a new and quite different geographic area. In spite of challenges (for example: name of a homeless shelter without indication of the facility’s function or regional variation or local nuances in language), the research scientists verified that the NLP models, with relatively simple modifications, could deliver highly accurate performance as compared to the gold standard of human review.

“Is a patient diagnosed with diabetes? It's relatively easy to find that information in an electronic health record because the same words and codes are more likely to be used in health systems in central Indiana as are used in Florida or elsewhere in the U.S. But social risk factors don't have nearly as established and widely used words, phrases or codes to identify them. Therefore, it's harder to search through and determine a patient has a financial need than it is to say a patient has diabetes,” said Dr. Harle. “Our work is important for patients because ultimately their health is related to a variety of factors in their life, including social factors. For example, are clinicians incorporating in their decision making a patient's ability to recover from a surgery as it's going to be different if they have stable housing versus unstable housing?

“The more that we can disseminate and adapt natural language processing and other artificial intelligence methods that fully describe a patient to give clinicians a full 360 understanding of patients’ needs, the better. If we can extract social information more efficiently, it's less costly. Then we can start to take what we'd call a population health perspective. So, if a health system can efficiently identify the patients who have housing instability -- the population of patients who have this need -- then the healthcare system  may be able to employ a more proactive population-based intervention to serve that whole group of people, connecting them, for example, to the housing services in the community or financial resources that might be available.”

Dr. Harle, an information scientist and health services researcher who focuses on the design, adoption, use and value of health information systems, notes that this study was a team effort across multiple institutions of professionals who work in the clinical arena (including individuals who study how patients access and use care), public health, population health and healthcare administration as well as technically knowledgeable and skilled systems specialists. “Bringing people together who have that diversity of understanding leads to pragmatically useful studies like this one,” he said.

"Generalizability and portability of natural language processing system to extract individual social risk factors” is published in International Journal of Medical Informatics.

The study was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS028636) and the Indiana University Addictions Grand Challenge.

Authors and affiliations:

Tanja Magoc a, Katie S. Allen b d, Cara McDonnell a, Jean-Paul Russo a c, Jonathan Cummins b, Joshua R. Vest b d, Christopher A. Harle b d

a College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

b Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, USA

c Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

d Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN, USA

About Christopher A. Harle, PhD, M.S.

In addition to his role as a research scientist with the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at Regenstrief Institute, Christopher A. Harle, PhD, M.S., is a professor and chair of the Health Policy and Management Department at Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and associate faculty at IU Kelley School of Business.

About Regenstrief Institute 

Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its research scientists are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe.

Sam Regenstrief, a nationally successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute’s research mission.

About the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health  

Located on the IUPUI and Fort Wayne campuses, the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health is committed to advancing the public’s health and well-being through education, innovation, and leadership. The Fairbanks School of Public Health is known for its expertise in biostatistics, epidemiology, cancer research, community health, environmental public health, global health, health policy, and health services administration. 

 

 

 

 

 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

To close the gap at the top, start with the bottom

To close the gap at the top, start with the bottom
2023-08-21
Ames, IA — Twenty years ago, the National Football League adopted the Rooney Rule. It attempted to address racial disparity in top positions by requiring teams to interview at least one person of color for every head coach opening. But newly published research suggests the gap will persist unless it’s closed at the bottom. The NFL has a hierarchal labor pool, explains Andreas Schwab, co-author and associate professor of entrepreneurship at Iowa State University. Under the head coach are two coordinators who oversee defense and offense. These coordinators supervise position-specific coaches who may have their own assistant coaches. “To become ...

REBURN: A new tool to model wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and beyond

REBURN: A new tool to model wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and beyond
2023-08-21
FROM: James Urton University of Washington 206-543-2580 jurton@uw.edu  (Note: researcher contact information at the end)   For Immediate Release August 21, 2023   In 2006, the Tripod Complex Fire burned more than 175,000 acres in north-central Washington. The fire, which was within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, was more than three times the size of Seattle. Yet while considered severe at the time, even larger wildfires in 2014, 2015 and 2021 have since dwarfed Tripod. Past research shows that large and severe wildfires like these were much rarer in the western U.S. and Canada prior to the late ...

Chemists build synthetic catalysts to break down biomass like super enzymes

Chemists build synthetic catalysts to break down biomass like super enzymes
2023-08-21
AMES, Iowa – Yan Zhao gestured toward the trees outside his campus window on a rainy afternoon.   The professor of chemistry at Iowa State University is developing new synthetic catalysts to break down cellulose, the plant fibers that make those trees tall and strong.   “Cellulose is built to last – a tree doesn’t just disappear after rain,” Zhao said. “Cellulose is a huge challenge to break down.”   Zhao thinks he has an idea and a technology that can get the job done, making plant biomass a practical source of sugars that can be converted to many applications, including ...

Understanding the neurological mechanisms behind Parkinson’s disease

Understanding the neurological mechanisms behind Parkinson’s disease
2023-08-21
Nearly one million people in the United States are living with Parkinson’s disease, making it the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Current medical treatments for Parkinson’s are focused on helping people manage symptoms. But the underlying mechanisms of the neurological disorder remain poorly understood.  Tamily Weissman, associate professor of biology and department chair, is working to change that. Parkinson’s symptoms occur because of a drop in dopamine levels when ...

Space travel depletes red blood cells and bone, but bone marrow fat may come to the rescue

Space travel depletes red blood cells and bone, but bone marrow fat may come to the rescue
2023-08-21
A study of 14 astronauts suggests that while space travel depletes red blood cells and bone, the body can eventually replenish them back on Earth with the help of fat stored in the bone marrow. The study, published in Nature Communications, has important implications for health in space and on Earth. “We found that astronauts had significantly less fat in their bone marrow about a month after returning to Earth,” said senior study author Dr. Guy Trudel, a rehabilitation physician and researcher at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. ...

COVID-19 may trigger new-onset high blood pressure

2023-08-21
Research Highlights: An analysis of more than 45,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 found a significant association between the virus and the development of persistent high blood pressure among those with no prior history of high blood pressure. In addition, people with COVID-19 infection and no history of high blood pressure were significantly more likely to develop persistent high blood pressure compared to people with the influenza virus. People with COVID-19 who are over age 40, men, Black adults or those with preexisting ...

Overuse of social media and devices top parent concerns as kids head back to school

Overuse of social media and devices top parent concerns as kids head back to school
2023-08-21
ANN ARBOR, Mich. –  As children head back to school, two issues have climbed higher on their parents’ list of concerns: the role of social media and the internet in kids’ lives. Over half of parents also rate mental health issues as leading health concerns for children and teens, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Overall, emotional health and technology use dominated this year’s top 10 list of parent concerns about health-related issues for kids in the U.S.– surpassing childhood obesity, which parents rated the number one children’s health issue ...

Citizen scientists reveal how the common wasp spreads across UK

2023-08-21
The Big Wasp Survey, a citizen science project involving thousands of volunteers throughout the UK, has yielded important genetic insights into the common wasp, reports a study led by UCL researchers. Using data and samples of Vespula vulgaris (a species of yellowjacket wasp known as the Common Wasp) collected by amateur ‘citizen scientists’, the researchers conducted the first large-scale genetic analysis of the insect across its native range. The insights, published in Insect Molecular Biology, revealed a single population of the wasp across Britain, while the insect’s genetics were more differentiated across the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland. The researchers ...

Melatonin and its derivatives enhance long-term object recognition memory

Melatonin and its derivatives enhance long-term object recognition memory
2023-08-21
Multiple studies have demonstrated the memory-enhancing effects of melatonin and its derivatives in animal models. It is also known that the formation of both short- and long-term memories require the phosphorylation of certain memory-related proteins. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying melatonin-induced memory enhancement have remained elusive. Now, medical researchers from Sophia University, Japan, have made important findings that contribute significantly to the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms in a recent article that was made available online on 10 May 2023 and published in Volume 34 Issue 9 of NeuroReport on 7 June 2023. Regarding the premise of the study, ...

Recreational nitrous oxide use is no laughing matter

2023-08-21
Nitrous oxide is a popular recreational drug, especially among young people, that can cause serious and sometimes permanent neurological defects. A new review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) aims to help clinicians recognize signs of nitrous oxide toxicity https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230196. Also known as “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is an anesthetic sometimes used in pediatric and dental procedures. Inexpensive and easily obtainable online, it is increasingly used for a quick high. In the 2021 Global Drug Survey, 10% of all respondents, and 15% of Canadian respondents, indicated having used the drug in the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

We could soon use AI to detect brain tumors

TAMEST recognizes Lyda Hill and Lyda Hill Philanthropies with Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award

Establishment of an immortalized red river hog blood-derived macrophage cell line

Neural networks: You might not need to buy every ticket to win the lottery

Healthy New Town: Revitalizing neighborhoods in the wake of aging populations

High exposure to everyday chemicals linked to asthma risk in children

How can brands address growing consumer scepticism?

New paradigm of quantum information technology revealed through light-matter interaction!

MSU researchers find trees acclimate to changing temperatures

World's first visual grading system developed to combat microplastic fashion pollution

Teenage truancy rates rise in English-speaking countries

Cholesterol is not the only lipid involved in trans fat-driven cardiovascular disease

Study: How can low-dose ketamine, a ‘lifesaving’ drug for major depression, alleviate symptoms within hours? UB research reveals how

New nasal vaccine shows promise in curbing whooping cough spread

Smarter blood tests from MSU researchers deliver faster diagnoses, improved outcomes

Q&A: A new medical AI model can help spot systemic disease by looking at a range of image types

For low-risk pregnancies, planned home births just as safe as birth center births, study shows

Leaner large language models could enable efficient local use on phones and laptops

‘Map of Life’ team wins $2 million prize for innovative rainforest tracking

Rise in pancreatic cancer cases among young adults may be overdiagnosis

New study: Short-lived soda tax reinforces alternative presumptions on tax impacts on consumer behaviors

Fewer than 1 in 5 know the 988 suicide lifeline

Semaglutide eligibility across all current indications for US adults

Can podcasts create healthier habits?

Zerlasiran—A small-interfering RNA targeting lipoprotein(a)

Anti-obesity drugs, lifestyle interventions show cardiovascular benefits beyond weight loss

Oral muvalaplin for lowering of lipoprotein(a)

Revealing the hidden costs of what we eat

New therapies at Kennedy Krieger offer effective treatment for managing Tourette syndrome

American soil losing more nutrients for crops due to heavier rainstorms, study shows

[Press-News.org] Natural language processing to extract social risk factors influencing health
New system from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University overcomes challenges of generalizability and portability