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2015 HSR&D/QUERI National Conference Abstract


2012 — Developing Natural Language Processing Systems for Healthcare

Gobbel GT, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System; Reeves RM, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System; Chapman WW, University of Utah; Finch D, James A Haley Veterans' Hospital; Garvin JH, Salt Lake City VA Medical Center; Matheny ME, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System;

Workshop Objectives:
"¢ Describe natural language processing (NLP) and its potential with respect to healthcare "¢ Delineate the complete workflow for developing a biomedical NLP system from conceptualization to implementation "¢ Describe the 4 key tasks commonly required for developing an NLP system, document selection, annotation, NLP tool generation and adaptation, and implementation and their significance "¢ Define the subtasks required to complete each step in NLP development, and identify approaches for estimating time and effort requirements "¢ Identify tools for assisting with each of the NLP development steps "¢ Encourage increased use of NLP for addressing healthcare-related issues

Activities:
The first speaker will provide an overview including motivation for the workshop, capabilities of NLP, and examples of its use in healthcare. A brief description of the 4 key tasks commonly required for developing an NLP system for use in healthcare will follow. Each of the four other speakers will then focus on one key task, and presentations will include descriptions of the role of the task in NLP system development, panelists' own experiences including workflows and lessons learned, tools implemented or used, and barriers to task completion. Each speaker will present for 10 min followed by 5 min of discussion with 30 min reserved at the end of all presentation for a general discussion. Potential Discussion Topics: "¢ What clinical questions might particularly benefit from the use of NLP? "¢ What opportunities are there for extending the utility of NLP in healthcare? "¢ What are major barriers to developing NLP systems in the VA for current users? What are the major barriers for potential users? "¢ Will there ever be "user-friendly" NLP tools developed for use by non-experts? "¢ What are the clinical and research questions that NLP can address? What questions are best addressed using approaches other than NLP?

Target Audience:
The primary target audience for this presentation includes researchers and healthcare providers who are intrigued by the reported promise of NLP systems but have a limited understanding of NLP and development of an NLP system. Descriptions of NLP tools and workflows will also be relevant to current NLP users and system developers.

Assumed Audience Familiarity with Topic:
None.