One of the challenges that health systems and innovators face in addressing social determinants of health is the lack of consistent terminology and structured ways of collecting and analyzing relevant data.
MATTER, NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health and IQVIA discuss the use of natural language processing to draw insights from clinical data to improve health outcomes. NorthShore recently implemented a new NLP system which allows them to extract insights from electronic health record data in novel ways. The new system, powered by IQVIA NLP (formerly Linguamatics), gives them the ability to better understand their patients and target meaningful interventions to improve their health and well-being.
Dr. Calum Yacoubian is Director of Healthcare Product & Strategy at Linguamatics, IQVIA. He is a medical doctor who trained and practiced in the UK before moving into medical technology. He has worked with Natural Language Processing in clinical data for over 5 years and is passionate about the potential for data to drive improved patient outcomes.
Dr. Nirav Shah is an infectious disease physician at NorthShore University Healthsystem. He also functions as the Medical Director of Quality Innovation and Clinical Practice Analytics and the Program Director of Outcomes Research for Quality and Transformation. He works at the interface of informatics, analytics, innovation, quality and research.
Chad Konchak is the assistant vice president of data analytics at NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health: a HIMSS triple 7, nine-hospital integrated healthcare delivery system in the northern Chicagoland area. In his role, Chad oversees the team responsible for the system’s clinical and operational reporting, analysis and predictive modeling, which focus on leveraging and delivering data that improve the quality of care, patient and physician experience and efficiency of the healthcare system. Chad is also a faculty of the American College of Healthcare Executives where he teaches a course on healthcare analytics for executives.
Dr. Kathy Bobay, PhD, RN is a professor and associate dean for faculty in the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health at Loyola University of Chicago. Her research focuses on the impact of nurses on improving patient care. Dr. Bobay’s team has a patent pending on two natural language processing engines that can be used with electronic health records for clinical decision support, operations improvement and clinical research.