System and method for data sensitive filtering of patient demographic record queries

• US 20060294092A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Sandilya, Sathyakama, Landi, William A., Giang, Phan H.
• Granted Patent: US 9,336,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/242 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2458 Special types of queries, e.g. statistical queries, fuzzy queries or distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2462 Approximate or statistical queries
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method for data sensitive filtering in patient database searches includes providing a search criteria comprising one or more search locator fields, determining a retrieval formula from said search criteria that maximizes error tolerance in said search criteria while satisfying a predefined response time requirement, retrieving said candidate records from said database, wherein if no retrieval formula can be found to satisfies said response time requirements, requesting additional search criteria, scoring each said candidate record by comparing a search criteria locator field with a corresponding retrieved record field, determining whether said score of said candidate record exceeds a predefined threshold, and if said candidate score does exceed said threshold, adding said candidate record to a list of records to be returned in response to said search criteria.

Claims

1. A method for data sensitive filtering in patient database searches, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a search criteria comprising one or more search locator fields;

determining a retrieval formula from said search criteria that maximizes error tolerance in said search criteria while satisfying a predefined response time requirement;

retrieving said candidate records from said database, wherein if no retrieval formula can be found to satisfies said response time requirements, requesting additional search criteria;

scoring each said candidate record by comparing a search criteria locator field with a corresponding retrieved record field;

determining whether said score of said candidate record exceeds a predefined threshold, and if said candidate score does exceed said threshold, adding said candidate record to a list of records to be returned in response to said search criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said search criteria includes a first name and a last name, the method further comprising compiling a list of names equivalent to said first name in said search criteria.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing a search criteria locator field with a corresponding candidate record field comprises

performing a field by field comparison of said locator field and said candidate record field pair to fill in components of a comparison result vector c_j for a field pair j using a field comparison method predefined for each field pair for up to a predefined number of characters in said pair of fields,

scoring said comparison result c_j based on one or more probabilities using a formula

$\mathrm{score}$

 

⁢

(cj)=log⁡

(P1⁢

j⁡

(cj))-log⁡

(P0⁢

j⁡

(cj))=log⁡

(P1⁢

j⁡

(cj)P0⁢

j⁡

(cj)),

wherein P_0j(c_j) and P_1j(c_j) are probabilities that are functions of the number of matching characters in said pair of fields; and

summing score(c_j) over all fields j where the both the locator field and the corresponding field in said candidate record are not blank to calculate a first score.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein if both a first name and a last name are specified in the search criteria, swapping said first and last names in the search criteria, repeating said steps of performing a field by field comparison of the swapped locator field with the candidate record field, scoring said comparison result c_j, and summing said score over all fields j to calculate a second score, and selecting a maximum of said first score and said second score minus a swap penalty.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising transforming said score to a 0 to 100 scale according to a formula

transformedScore=(score−

minScore)/(maxScore−

minScore)%100

wherein

maxScore=Σ

_j maxScore_j,
minScore=Σ

_j minScore_j,

wherein the locator field that is used to generate the j^th component of the comparison vector is not blank in the search criteria, and wherein maxScore_j=max(score(c_j)) and minScore_j=mi(score(c_j)) over all possible values of c_j.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said field comparison method for a field is one of an exact distance match, a Hamming distance, and edit distance, and edit distance with swap, a first name distance, and a last name distance.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, for each candidate record in said list of records to be returned, retrieving a most recent complete record from said database for said search locator field;

for each field that has a non-empty value in said candidate record, replacing the field value in the retrieved complete record with the corresponding value in the candidate record; and

adding the altered complete record to said database.

8. A method for data sensitive filtering in patient database searches, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a search criteria for retrieving one or more records from a database comprising one or more search locator fields;

determining a maximum number of candidate records to be retrieved from said database, and a maximum response time for retrieving said records;

determining a number of candidate records to be retrieved based on a number of characters in said search criteria being correct;

determining a retrieval formula from said search criteria that maximizes error tolerance in said search criteria while satisfying said response time requirements; and

retrieving said candidate records from said database, wherein if no retrieval formula can be found to satisfies said response time requirements, requesting additional search criteria.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein if a number of candidate record retrievable using said retrieval formula falls below a minimum number of candidate records, reducing said number of characters in said search criteria assumed to be correct.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said maximum number of candidate records to be retrieved is determined from a frequency table of database values that represent probabilities of search criteria fields being included in said database, and wherein strings having probability values higher than a predefined threshold are stored in memory.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said threshold is based on the database size, required response time, and a speed of comparison between said search criteria and said candidate records.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said probabilities include probabilities of search criteria sub-fields being included in said database.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

comparing said search criteria with a first candidate record and storing a result of said comparison and said first candidate record in a table;

searching for each subsequent candidate record by searching said table, wherein if said subsequent candidate record is not found in said table, comparing said subsequent candidate record with said search criteria and storing said comparison result and said subsequent candidate record in said table.

18. A program storage device readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform the method steps for data sensitive filtering in patient database searches, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a search criteria comprising one or more search locator fields;

determining a retrieval formula from said search criteria that maximizes error tolerance in said search criteria while satisfying a predefined response time requirement;

retrieving said candidate records from said database, wherein if no retrieval formula can be found to satisfies said response time requirements, requesting additional search criteria;

scoring each said candidate record by comparing a search criteria locator field with a corresponding retrieved record field;

determining whether said score of said candidate record exceeds a predefined threshold, and if said candidate score does exceed said threshold, adding said candidate record to a list of records to be returned in response to said search criteria.

14. The method of claim 18 wherein said retrieval formula comprises a logical formula formed from said one or more search locator fields.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein if said search criteria includes only one search field, basing said retrieval formula on a sub-string of said search field, and searching a dictionary of high frequency strings, and performing a database query if said search sub-string is not found in said dictionary.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein if said search criteria includes more than two search fields, forming said logical formula from a disjunction of conjunction of pairs of search criteria.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein if said search criteria includes two search fields, forming said logical formula from logical combinations of comparisons of the entire search fields and comparisons of partial search fields.

19. The computer readable program storage device of claim 18, wherein said search criteria includes a first name and a last name, the method further comprising compiling a list of names equivalent to said first name in said search criteria.

20. The computer readable program storage device of claim 18, wherein comparing a search criteria locator field with a corresponding candidate record field comprises

performing a field by field comparison of said locator field and said candidate record field pair to fill in components of a comparison result vector c_j for a field pair j using a field comparison method predefined for each field pair for up to a predefined number of characters in said pair of fields,

scoring said comparison result c_j based on one or more probabilities using a formula

$\mathrm{score}$

 

⁢

(cj)=log⁡

(P1⁢

j⁡

(cj))-log⁡

(P0⁢

j⁡

(cj))=log⁡

(P1⁢

j⁡

(cj)P0⁢

j⁡

(cj)),

wherein P_0j(c_j) and P_1j(c_j) are probabilities that are functions of the number of matching characters in said pair of fields; and

summing score(c_j) over all fields j where the both the locator field and the corresponding field in said candidate record are not blank to calculate a first score.

21. The computer readable program storage device of claim 20, wherein if both a first name and a last name are specified in the search criteria, swapping said first and last names in the search criteria, repeating said steps of performing a field by field comparison of the swapped locator field with the candidate record field, scoring said comparison result c_j, and summing said score over all fields j to calculate a second score, and selecting a maximum of said first score and said second score minus a swap penalty.

22. The computer readable program storage device of claim 21, the method further comprising transforming said score to a 0 to 100 scale according to a formula

transformedScore=(score−

minScore)/(maxScore−

minScore)%100

wherein

maxScore=Σ

_j maxScore_j,
minScore=Σ

_j minScore_j,

wherein the locator field that is used to generate the j^th component of the comparison vector is not blank in the search criteria, and wherein maxScore_j=max(score(c_j)) and minScore_j=mi(score(c_j)) over all possible values of c_j.

23. The computer readable program storage device of claim 20, wherein said field comparison method for a field is one of an exact distance match, a Hamming distance, and edit distance, and edit distance with swap, a first name distance, and a last name distance.

24. The computer readable program storage device of claim 18, the method further comprising, for each candidate record in said list of records to be returned, retrieving a most recent complete record from said database for said search locator field;

for each field that has a non-empty value in said candidate record, replacing the field value in the retrieved complete record with the corresponding value in the candidate record; and

adding the altered complete record to said database.