Determining sources of healthcare expertise related to a condition of the patient

A method, a system, and a computer program product are provided. Electronic health records of patients, indicating encounters with healthcare providers for medical conditions, are analyzed to determine networks of healthcare providers. Based on the analyzing, healthcare provider network data corresponding to a graphical representation of the determined networks of healthcare providers are generated. The healthcare provider network data includes multiple paths, each of which indicates a series of healthcare providers. Based on the generated healthcare provider network data, a path indicating a series of healthcare providers within the healthcare provider network data and corresponding to at least one medical condition indicated by an electronic health record of a patient is identified. An action for the patient and a corresponding healthcare provider to perform the action is determined based on the identified path. An appointment is automatically scheduled for the patient with the corresponding healthcare provider.

BACKGROUND

Present invention embodiments are related to systems, methods and computer program products for determining sources of healthcare expertise regarding at least one medical condition of a patient.

An electronic health record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patient's medical history that is maintained by a healthcare provider over time, and may include all key administrative clinical data relevant to care of the patient under a particular healthcare provider, including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. The EHR allows access to medical information to be automated and can help a clinician streamline workflow. The EHR can support other care-related activities directly or indirectly through various interfaces including evidence-based decision support, quality management and outcomes reporting.

Often, when a patient seeks healthcare, a healthcare provider engages with the patient for a limited time. As a result, the healthcare provider may recommend immediate, and sometimes inaccurate, decisions regarding next steps for the patient to take.

Current expertise location systems use a skills matrix or natural language content to drive a scoring system. However, such scoring systems are susceptible to disclosure of private information and are not ideal for a patient health system.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of various embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided. Patients' electronic health records, indicating encounters with healthcare providers for medical conditions, are analyzed to determine networks of healthcare providers. Healthcare provider network data, corresponding to a graphical representation of the determined networks of healthcare providers, are generated. The healthcare provider network data includes multiple paths, each of which indicates a series of healthcare providers. A path indicating a series of healthcare providers within the healthcare provider network data is identified based on the generated healthcare provider network data. The path corresponds to at least one medical condition indicated by an electronic health record of a patient. An action for the patient and a corresponding healthcare provider to perform the action is determined based on the identified path. An appointment is automatically scheduled for the patient with the corresponding healthcare provider.

In a second aspect of the various embodiments, a system for processing electronic health records is provided. The system includes at least one processor and at least one memory connected to the at least one processor. The at least one memory includes instructions stored therein for the at least one processor to configure the system to: analyze electronic medical records of patients indicating encounters with healthcare providers for medical conditions in order to determine networks of healthcare providers; generating healthcare provider network data corresponding to a graphical representation of the determined networks of healthcare providers, wherein the healthcare provider network data includes multiple paths, each of which indicates a series of healthcare providers; identifying a path indicating a series of healthcare providers within the healthcare provider network data corresponding to at least one medical condition indicated by an electronic health record of a patient; determining an action for the patient and a corresponding healthcare provider to perform the action based on the identified path; and automatically scheduling an appointment for the patient with the corresponding healthcare provider.

In a third aspect of various embodiments, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes at least one computer readable storage medium that has computer readable program code embodied therewith for execution on a processing system. The computer readable program code is configured to be executed by the processing system to: analyze electronic health records of patients indicating encounters with healthcare providers for medical conditions in order to determine networks of healthcare providers; generating healthcare provider network data corresponding to a graphical representation of the determined networks of healthcare providers, wherein the healthcare provider network data includes multiple paths, each of which indicates a series of healthcare providers; identifying a path indicating a series of healthcare providers within the healthcare provider network data corresponding to at least one medical condition indicated by an electronic health record of a patient; determining an action for the patient and a corresponding healthcare provider to perform the action based on the identified path; and automatically scheduling an appointment for the patient with the corresponding healthcare provider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now toFIG. 1, an example environment100for implementation of embodiments is shown. Environment100may include a network102, one or more processing devices104, one or more user processing devices106, and electronic health records108on a file server (not shown). Network102may be implemented by any number of any suitable communications media (e.g., wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), Internet, Intranet, etc.). One or more processing devices104and one or more user processing devices106may be connected to network102. One or more processing devices104may have access to electronic health records108via network102. In some implementations, electronic health records108may be local to one or more processing devices104. One or more user devices106may communicate with one or more processing devices104via network102. User processing device106may be a processing device or processing system of a healthcare provider.

Referring now toFIG. 2, a schematic of an example processing device210, which may implement a processing device of one or more processing devices104and/or a processing device of one or more user processing device106, is shown. Processing device210is only one example of a suitable processing device for the environment ofFIG. 1and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, processing device210is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forth herein.

As shown inFIG. 2, computer system212is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Components of computer system212may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units216, a system memory228, and a bus218that couples various system components including system memory228to one or more processors216.

Computer system212typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer system212, and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

Program/utility240, having a set (at least one) of program modules242, may be stored in memory228by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, the one or more application programs, the other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. When implementing processing device104, program modules242generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system212may also communicate with one or more external devices214such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display224, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system212; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system212to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces222. Still yet, computer system212can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter220. As depicted, network adapter220communicates with the other components of computer system212via bus218. It should be understood that, although not shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used in conjunction with computer system212. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

FIG. 3is a high-level flowchart of an example process for building data corresponding to a healthcare provider graph and for processing health records waiting for attention, which may be performed in various embodiments of processing device104. The process may begin by training a processing system and building data corresponding to a healthcare provider graph based on patients' links between healthcare providers, as indicated in electronic health records (act302). Electronic health records waiting for attention may then be processed and a next provider in a chain of healthcare providers may be determined and presented for each processed healthcare record (act304).

FIG. 4is a flowchart illustrating processing that may occur during act302. The process may begin by extracting health records from an electronic health record (EHR) system (act402). For each extracted health record, analyze an incorporated history indicating encounters with healthcare providers for one or more medical conditions in order to determine networks of healthcare providers (act404). In some embodiments, analysis may be limited to data from a specific time period such as, for example, a last one year period of data, a last 5 year period of data, a time period equal to a lifetime of all electronic health records, or some other time period. In addition, the determined networks of healthcare providers may further include networks of healthcare providers who fulfill a same function.

Dates of the encounters with the healthcare providers may then be normalized as a time relationship between historic updates (act406). For example, a first appointment on January 1 of a given year may be normalized to day 0. Next, data corresponding to a healthcare provider graph based on various medical conditions and patients' links between providers may be built (act408). Graph edges may have multiple attributes associated therewith, including, but not limited to, role, provider, cause, reason, and action. When creating the graph edges, various embodiments may take into account providers' schedules and availability. In some embodiments, the providers' availability may be weighted. In other embodiments, if one provider is not available, another provider who fulfills a same role and is available may be substituted. Some of the other embodiments may substitute one provider for another only if the one provider's record of successful outcomes is no more than a given percentage less than the another provider's record of successful outcomes. Thus, in such embodiments, if the another provider has a 95% record of successful outcomes and the given percentage is 5%, then the one provider, who may be substituted for the another provider, must have a record of successful outcomes that is greater than or equal to 90%. Of course, the given percentage may have other values such as, for example, 2%, 1%, 0% or another value.

FIG. 5is a flowchart that illustrates in more detail a process of act304. A first electronic health record (EHR) waiting for attention may be selected (act502). A query may be performed based on one or more medical conditions from the electronic health record (act504). Next, the query may be augmented with natural language and/or search terms (act506). In some embodiments, the augmentation may effectively include standard terms for the one or more medical conditions from the healthcare record. For example, a medical condition such as “heart attack” may be augmented with a term, “myocardial infarction.” Thus, the augmentation may function to standardize names of medical conditions.

Next, one or more chains of healthcare providers that lead to successful outcomes for the one or more medical conditions from the healthcare record may be identified (act508). A shortest chain in the healthcare provider graph that leads to a successful outcome for the one or more medical conditions may then be chosen (act510) and a next provider in a chain of providers may be determined. The shortest chain in the healthcare provider network may be an optimal path leading to the successful outcome for the one or more medical conditions. The system may then communicate with a scheduling system of the next provider in the chain of providers to automatically schedule an appointment with the next healthcare provider for the patient (act511). The system may then notify the patient and the referring provider regarding the scheduled appointment (act512). The notification may be through an email message, a text message, a voicemail message, a phone call, or via another method.

A determination may then be made regarding whether more electronic health records are waiting for attention (act514). If no additional health records are waiting for attention, then the process is completed. Otherwise, a next healthcare record waiting for attention may be selected (act516) and acts504-514may be repeated.

FIG. 6illustrates three exemplary chains of providers that may be included in a determined network of healthcare providers. Each of the chain of providers, in this example, is associated with a medical condition, cough. Path602shows that a patient, “patient A”, visited physician assistant, Alice, complaining of a cough. Alice referred patient A to primary care doctor, Dr. Bob. After examining patient A, Dr. Bob referred patient A to pulmonologist, Dr. Charles, who treated patient A and resolved the cough. Path604shows that a patient, “patient B”, visited primary care doctor, Dr. Anna, complaining of a cough. Dr. Anna examined patient B and sent patient B to a lab to have chest x-rays by x-ray technician Barry and an MRI by MRI technician Cody. After the chest x-rays and the MRIs were read, patient B was referred to ENT, Dr. Denise, who resolved the cough. Path606shows that a patient, “patient C”, visited internist, Dr. Andrew, complaining of a cough. After examining patient C, Dr. Andrew referred patient C to pulmonologist, Dr. Caleb. Dr. Caleb examined patient C and referred patient C to ENT, Dr. Doris, who resolved patient C's cough.

In an embodiment of the invention in which an electronic health record waiting for attention is selected, indicating that a patient has a cough, the embodiment may identify a shortest path from among multiple paths of providers, within the healthcare provider network, in which a patient's cough was resolved. Using paths602,604and606as the multiple paths of providers, the embodiment may select path602and may present a result indicating that the patient should see physician assistant, Alice. After the patient visits Alice, an update to the patient's healthcare record may be submitted providing additional information regarding the patient's condition. For example, the medical condition, cough, may be changed to a different medical condition. As a result, another shortest path, associated with the different medical condition, may be selected and another healthcare provider may be presented for the patient to visit. If a particular healthcare provider is not available, various embodiments may find another provider who is available and who fulfills a same role.

FIG. 7is a flowchart of an example process that may be performed in various embodiments to process updates to patients' electronic health records, such as an update indicating a result of a visit to a recommended healthcare provider. The process may begin with receiving an update (act702). After receiving the update, data corresponding to the healthcare provider graph, as well as a specific patient's electronic health record may be updated (act704). A determination may then be made regarding whether there are additional updates to process (act706). If no additional updates exist, then the process may be completed. Otherwise, acts702-706may be repeated.