title: Current and future applications of natural language processing in the field of digestive diseases.
abstract: Natural language processing (NLP) is a technology that uses computer-based linguistics and artificial intelligence to identify and extract information from free-text data sources such as progress notes, procedure and pathology reports, and laboratory and radiologic test results. With the creation of large databases and the trajectory of health care reform, NLP holds the promise of enhancing the availability, quality, and utility of clinical information with the goal of improving documentation, quality, and efficiency of health care in the United States. To date, NLP has shown promise in automatically determining appropriate colonoscopy intervals and identifying cases of inflammatory bowel disease from electronic health records. The objectives of this review are to provide background on NLP and its associated terminology, to describe how NLP has been used thus far in the field of digestive diseases, and to identify its potential future uses.
authors.affiliation: Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Electronic address: jkhou@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Jason K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Imler
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Center of Innovation, Health Services Research and Development, Richard L. Roudeboush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Imperiale
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009323:Natural Language Processing; D014481:United States
keywords: Adenoma Detection Rate; Clinical Decision Support; Colonoscopy; Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Natural Language Processing; Performance Measures; Quality Improvement