Automated interpretation of clinical encounters with cultural cues

• US 8,423,370 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2011
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Optum360, LLC (UnitedHealth Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: A-Life Medical, Inc. (UnitedHealth Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Heinze, Daniel T.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALBERTALLI, BRIAN LOUIS
• Application Number:
  US13/089,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20110196665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30

Abstract

A method, system and a computer program product for an automated interpretation and translation are disclosed. An automated interpretation occurs by receiving language-based content from a user. The received language-based content is processed to interpret the received language-based content into a target language. Also, a presence of a cultural sensitivity in the received language-based content is detected. Further, an appropriate guidance for dealing with the detected cultural sensitivity is provided.

Claims

1. A method performed by a data processing device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the data processing device, spoken language-based content;

processing, at the data processing device, the received language-based content to translate the received language-based content into a target language;

detecting, at the data processing device, a presence of a cultural sensitivity in the received language-based content; and

determining, at the data processing device, guidance for dealing with the detected cultural sensitivity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the received language-based content comprises interpreting the language-based content into the target language.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating an output of the interpreting and translating as one or more of electronic text data and electronic speech data.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting, at the data processing device, a presence of a social sensitivity in the received language-based content.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising developing, at the data processing device, an interlingua to perform the interpreting in a clinical encounter.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein developing the interlingua comprises implementing a Clinical Document Architecture—

Revision 2®

(CDA-2) in conjunction with a formal medical vocabulary system.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, at the data processing device, whether processing the language-based content requires a human review.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising classifying, at the data processing device, the language-based content as having an immediate importance during a medical encounter.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising classifying, at the data processing device, the language-based content as having a durable importance beyond a temporal scope of a medical encounter.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing in an electronic health record a representation of the received language-based content classified as having a durable importance.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein storing comprises storing a CDA-2 representation of the received language-based content classified as having a durable importance.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying, at the data processing device, one or more identifiers to the language-based content, wherein the identifiers are associated with one or more warnings related to a subject matter known to have cultural sensitivities for the user in the target language.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying, at the data processing device, one or more identifiers to the language-based content, wherein the identifiers are associated with a subject matter that is difficult to translate into the target language.

14. A system for providing an automated translation, the system comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive a verbal communication from a user;

a processing unit in communication with the receiving unit, the processing unit configured to;

identify a presence of a cultural sensitivity in the received verbal communication;

determine guidance for dealing with the identified cultural sensitivity; and

translate the verbal communication into a target language.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to interpret the received verbal communication.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to render an output of the interpretation and translation into one or more of electronic text data and electronic speech data.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to detect a presence of a social sensitivity in the received verbal communication.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate an interlingua for automated interpretation in a clinical encounter.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the generated interlingua comprises a Clinical Document Architecture—

Revision 2®

(CDA-2) in conjunction with a formal medical vocabulary system.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine whether interpreting the received verbal communication requires a human review.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to classify the received verbal communication as having an immediate importance during a medical encounter.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to classify the received verbal communication as having a durable importance beyond a temporal scope of a medical encounter.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the processing unit is further configured to store in an electronic health record a representation of the received verbal communication classified as having a durable importance.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the representation of the received verbal communication classified as having a durable importance comprises CDA-2 representation.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to apply one or more identifiers to the received verbal communication, wherein the identifiers are associated with one or more warnings related to a subject matter known to have cultural sensitivities for the user in the target language.

26. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing unit is further configured to apply one or more identifiers to the received verbal communication, wherein the identifiers are associated with a subject matter that is difficult to translate into the target language.