Classifying information captured in different formats for search and display

• US 9,165,045 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2013
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Original Assignee: Peoplechart Corporation
• Inventors: Mok, Megan, Holvey, R. David
• Primary Examiner(s): BOWEN, RICHARD L
• Application Number:
  US14/054,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method receives a plurality of documents. The documents may be received from different medical providers. Also, the documents may be medical record documents generated or captured in a first format and a second format. The first format may be an unstructured data format and the second format may be a structured data format. The first and second documents are then converted to a common format. For example, a common format may emerge as the most restrictive or constrained denominator of the first format and the second format. A schema is determined that provides an organizational structure with categories that can be used to index the content of the first and second documents while they are being converted to the common format. The schema and indexing enable the different formats of documents to be combined and organized simultaneously into a single view for a comprehensive review.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a plurality of medical documents, the plurality of medical documents including a first set of medical documents in a first format in an image based format and a second set of medical documents in a second format in a structured data format;

determining, by the computing device, a schema based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of data fields can be used to classify information from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents;

determining, by the computing device, via extraction, unstructured information in the first set of medical documents relevant to the common set of data fields, wherein the unstructured information is based on information included in images of the first set of medical documents and in a format that is insertable into a table;

classifying, by the computing device, structured information from a first data field in the second set of medical documents and a portion of the unstructured information in the first set of medical documents to a common data field in the common set of data fields, wherein the portion of unstructured information is included in an image of a medical document in the first set of medical documents;

inserting, by the computing device, the structured information and the unstructured information into the table based on the common set of data fields, wherein the common data field in the table includes the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information;

storing, by the computing device, the table based on the common set of data fields to allow for searching for information in both the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents using a query, wherein the query retrieves the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information from the common data field in the table;

receiving the query;

determining search results for the query using the set of common data fields associated with the schema, wherein the search results include information in the table from a subset of medical documents from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents that are determined to match the query; and

displaying the search results in an interface, wherein the information from the subset of medical documents is displayed in a common data format.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tagging information in the first set of medical documents according to a first set of data fields;

tagging information in the second set of medical documents according to a second set of data fields; and

inserting the tagged information into the common set of data fields in the table.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a second data field in the first set of data fields and the first data field in the second set of data fields correspond to the common data field in the set of common data fields.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the common data format is a structured data format.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the common data format is the image based format.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

linking the second set of medical documents with the table; and

allowing a user to retrieve structured data for the second set of medical documents from the table.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of medical documents is received from different medical providers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the unstructured information in the first set of medical documents relevant to the common set of data fields comprises:

determining a template for automatically determining a subset of the unstructured information from images from the first set of medical documents; and

automatically determining the subset of the unstructured information for images based on the template.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, that when executed, control a computer system to be configured for:

receiving a plurality of medical documents, the plurality of medical documents including a first set of medical documents in a first format in an image based format and a second set of medical documents in a second format in a structured data format;

determining a schema based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of data fields can be used to classify information from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents;

determining, via extraction, unstructured information in the first set of medical documents relevant to the common set of data fields, wherein the unstructured information is based on information included in images of the first set of medical documents and in a format that is insertable into a table;

classifying structured information from a first data field in the second set of medical documents and a portion of the unstructured information in the first set of medical documents to a common data field in the common set of data fields, wherein the portion of unstructured information is included in an image of a medical document in the first set of medical documents;

inserting the structured information and the unstructured information into the table based on the common set of data fields, wherein the common data field in the table includes the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information;

storing the table based on the common set of data fields to allow for searching for information in both the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents using a query, wherein the query retrieves the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information from the common data field in the table;

receiving the query;

determining search results for the query using the set of common data fields associated with the schema, wherein the search results include information in the table from a subset of medical documents from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents that are determined to match the query; and

displaying the search results in an interface, wherein the information from the subset of medical documents is displayed in a common data format.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further configured for:

tagging information in the first set of medical documents according to a first set of data fields;

tagging information in the second set of medical documents according to a second set of data fields; and

compiling the tagged information into the common set of data fields.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein a second data field in the first set of data fields and the first data field in the second set of data fields correspond to the common data field in the set of common data fields.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein:

the common data format is a structured data format.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein:

the common data format is the image based format.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, further configured for:

linking the second set of medical documents with the table; and

allowing a user to retrieve structured data for the second set of medical documents from the table.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the plurality of medical documents is received from different medical providers.

16. An apparatus comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, that when executed, control the one or more computer processors to be configured for;

receiving a plurality of medical documents, the plurality of medical documents including a first set of medical documents in a first format in an image based format and a second set of medical documents in a second format in a structured data format;

determining a schema based on a review of an organizing principle to which a common set of data fields can be used to classify information from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents;

determining, via extraction, unstructured information in the first set of medical documents relevant to the common set of data fields, wherein the unstructured information is based on information included in images of the first set of medical documents and in a format that is insertable into a table;

classifying structured information from a first data field in the second set of medical documents and a portion of the unstructured information in the first set of medical documents to a common data field in the common set of data fields, wherein the portion of unstructured information is included in an image of a medical document in the first set of medical documents;

inserting the structured information and the unstructured information into the table based on the common set of data fields, wherein the common data field in the table includes the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information;

storing the table based on the common set of data fields to allow for searching for information in both the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents using a query, wherein the query retrieves the structured information from the first data field and the portion of unstructured information from the common data field in the table;

receiving the query;

determining search results for the query using the set of common data fields associated with the schema, wherein the search results include information in the table from a subset of medical documents from the first set of medical documents and the second set of medical documents that are determined to match the query; and

displaying the search results in an interface, wherein the information from the subset of medical documents is displayed in a common data format.