Combining structured and free-text electronic medical record data for real-time clinical decision support

Abstract

The goal of this work is to utilize Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data for real-time Clinical Decision Support (CDS). We present a deep learning approach to combining in real time available diagnosis codes (ICD codes) and free-text notes: Patient Context Vectors. Patient Context Vectors are created by averaging ICD code embeddings, and by predicting the same from free-text notes via a Convolutional Neural Network. The Patient Context Vectors were then simply appended to available structured data (vital signs and lab results) to build prediction models for a specific condition. Experiments on predicting ARDS, a rare and complex condition, demonstrate the utility of Patient Context Vectors as a means of summarizing the patient history and overall condition, and improve significantly the prediction model results.