U.S. patent application number 15/993958 was filed with the patent office on 2018-09-27 for document extension in dictation-based document generation workflow.
The applicant listed for this patent is MModal IP LLC. Invention is credited to Michael Finke, Juergen Fritsch, Detlef Koll.
Application Number | 20180276188 15/993958 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47354386 |
Filed Date | 2018-09-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180276188 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Koll; Detlef ; et
al. |
September 27, 2018 |
Document Extension in Dictation-Based Document Generation
Workflow
Abstract
An automatic speech recognizer is used to produce a structured
document representing the contents of human speech. A best practice
is applied to the structured document to produce a conclusion, such
as a conclusion that required information is missing from the
structured document. Content is inserted into the structured
document based on the conclusion, thereby producing a modified
document. The inserted content may be obtained by prompting a human
user for the content and receiving input representing the content
from the human user.
Inventors: |
Koll; Detlef; (Pittsburgh,
PA) ; Fritsch; Juergen; (Pittsburgh, PA) ;
Finke; Michael; (Pittsburgh, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MModal IP LLC |
Franklin |
TN |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47354386 |
Appl. No.: |
15/993958 |
Filed: |
May 31, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15055069 |
Feb 26, 2016 |
9996510 |
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15993958 |
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14326971 |
Jul 9, 2014 |
9275643 |
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15055069 |
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13527347 |
Jun 19, 2012 |
8781829 |
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14326971 |
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61498586 |
Jun 19, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/14 20200101;
G10L 2015/228 20130101; G06F 40/166 20200101; G10L 15/22 20130101;
G16H 15/00 20180101; G10L 15/26 20130101; G06F 19/00 20130101; G06F
3/167 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/22 20060101
G06F017/22; G10L 15/22 20060101 G10L015/22; G10L 15/26 20060101
G10L015/26; G06F 19/00 20060101 G06F019/00; G06F 17/24 20060101
G06F017/24; G06F 3/16 20060101 G06F003/16; G16H 15/00 20060101
G16H015/00 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method performed by at least one computer
processor, the method comprising: (A) applying automatic speech
recognition to an audio signal to produce a structured document
representing contents of the audio signal; (B) determining whether
the structured document includes an indication of compliance for
each of a plurality of best practices to produce a conclusion, the
plurality of best practices related to at least one action required
to be taken before completion of the structured document, at least
one of the plurality of best practices including at least one of a
heuristic and a procedure for drawing a conclusion about whether
the structured document fails to comply with a standard applicable
to the structured document; and (C) inserting content into the
structured document, based on the conclusion, to produce a modified
structured document, wherein inserting further comprises: (C)(1)
obtaining the content from a data source without human input; and
(C)(2) inserting the content into the structured document.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] A variety of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems
exist for recognizing speech and for generating text and/or
commands based on such speech. ASR systems that generate text based
on speech are typically referred to as "dictation" or
"transcription" systems.
[0002] Some dictation systems allow users to dictate freeform text
that is entered directly into documents exactly as spoken, except
possibly with spelling corrections or other minor corrections
applied. A common example of such systems is the dictation systems
commonly used in conjunction with word processors to dictate memos,
articles, and other prose documents. In contrast, some dictation
systems are designed to generate and input data in a structured
format based on the user's speech. For example, such an ASR system
may be used to enter data into a database form, in which data in
each field is constrained to have only certain values and to be
represented in certain formats. For example, a "Priority" field in
such a form may be associated with a dropdown list having only
three values, such as "High," "Medium," and "Low," in which case
the speech of a user dictating into such a field may be constrained
to produce only one of these three possibilities as speech
recognition results.
[0003] Whether the user provides input using speech input or other
kinds of input (such as mouse or keyboard input), both freeform and
structured input modalities have a variety of advantages and
disadvantages. For example, one advantage of freeform input
modalities is that they allow the user to provide a wide range of
input and therefore to capture subtleties in the information
provided. A corresponding disadvantage of structured input
modalities is that by constraining the input options available to
the user, they may fail to capture information that cannot
accurately be represented using the available options.
[0004] One advantage of structured input modalities is that they
require data to be stored in the form of discrete data elements
that computers can act on easily and automatically. For example, if
a patient has an allergy to allergen X and currently takes
medication Y, if these two facts are input using structured input
modalities (such as by using dropdown lists for selecting allergens
and medications, respectively), then the resulting data can be
encoded in discrete data elements representing allergen X and
medication Y, respectively, and a computer can performing
processing on such information easily and automatically, such as by
comparing the data to contraindications on a predetermined list to
determine whether allergen X is contraindicated with medication Y.
Structured input modalities, in other words, enable data to be
input in a form such that the meaning of the data is available to
and unambiguously processable by a computer without the need for
further interpretation. In contrast, data input using freeform
input modalities (such as the text "the patient is allergic to X
and is taking medication Y") must be parsed and interpreted in an
attempt to discern the meaning of the text before a computer can
attempt to parse the information represented by the text. Such
parsing and interpretation are subject to errors which can impede
the ability to perform the kind of processing that can be performed
easily and automatically using data obtained using structured input
modalities.
[0005] Another advantage of structured input modalities is that
they can enable data to be input with fewer errors because the user
is prevented, for example, from providing the wrong type of
information (such as by inputting a name into a date field) or from
providing information that is outside a permissible range of values
(such as by entering -10 into a field representing the body
temperature of a patient). A corresponding disadvantage of freeform
input modalities is that they can allow input to contain a wide
variety of errors because the user's input is not constrained.
[0006] Yet another advantage of freeform input modalities is that
they do not predispose the user toward providing any one particular
input over another. In contrast, structured input modalities can
bias the input provided by the user towards the set or range of
permitted inputs. This bias can be undesirable when the goal of the
system is to faithfully capture and represent information. For
example, a documentation system that only offers a checkbox as a
means for inputting information about the presence or absence of a
particular fact--such as whether a patient has hypertension--forces
the user to pigeonhole the user's knowledge about the patient's
condition into a binary value of "yes" or "no." If the user's
knowledge of the patient indicates, for example, that the patient
currently has mild hypertension, that the patient may possibly have
hypertension, or that the patient is in the process of developing
hypertension, then requiring the user to provide an answer of "yes"
or "no" to the question, "Does the patient have hypertension?,"
will result in a misrepresentation of the true state of the patient
in relation to hypertension.
[0007] Some input systems (such as EMR systems) attempt to address
this problem by adding additional input choices, such as by
enabling the user to provide not only binary answers to questions
about facts, but also to provide information about additional
qualities related to those facts, such as degree, likelihood,
conditionality, and interdependency of such facts. For example,
such a system might require the user to provide a "yes" or "no"
answer to the question, "Does the patient have hypertension?," but
also ask the user, in connection with that question, to provide a
degree to which the user's "yes" or "no" answer is correct, a
likelihood that the user's "yes" or "no" answer is correct, and so
on.
[0008] Although this kind of solution can address some of the
problems with structured input modalities, adding such additional
input choices can quickly make using the system unwieldy due to the
large amount and variety of inputs that the user must provide.
Furthermore, the meanings of the additional input choices may not
be clear to the users responsible for selecting such choices. For
example, if the user is provided with choices of "Low," "Medium,"
and "High" for rating the likelihood that the patient has
hypertension, it is not clear whether these choices represent
equally-distributed probabilities such as 0-33.3%, 33.3-66.7%, and
66.7-100%, or some other ranges, such as 0-10%, 10-90%, and
90-100%. As a result, the user must make some decision about how to
interpret the available input choices, and the result of that
decision may differ both from that intended by the designer of the
system and from the decisions made by other users when faced with
the same set of input choices. As a result, the inputs provided by
users may result in inaccurate information being entered into the
system.
[0009] In light of these various advantages and disadvantages of
freeform and structured input modalities, what is needed are
improved techniques for capturing data to maximize accuracy and
minimize errors.
SUMMARY
[0010] In one aspect, a method includes applying automatic speech
recognition to an audio signal to produce a structured document
representing contents of the audio signal. The method includes
determining whether the structured document includes an indication
of compliance with a best practice to produce a conclusion. The
method includes inserting content into the structured document,
based on the conclusion, to produce a modified structured
document.
[0011] In another aspect, a system includes an automatic speech
recognition system and a structured document analyzer. The
automatic speech recognition system applies automatic speech
recognition to an audio signal to produce a structured document
representing contents of the audio signal. The automatic speech
recognition system may include a structured document generator
producing the structured document. The structured document analyzer
determines whether the structured document includes an indication
of compliance with a best practice to produce a conclusion and
inserting content into the structured document, based on the
conclusion, to produce a modified structured document.
[0012] Other features and advantages of various aspects and
embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the
following description and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and
advantages of the disclosure will become more apparent and better
understood by referring to the following description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1A is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a
system for document extension in dictation-based document
generation workflow;
[0015] FIG. 1B is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a
structured document representing contents of an audio signal;
[0016] FIG. 1C is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a
system for document extension in dictation-based document
generation workflow;
[0017] FIG. 1D is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a
structured document modified to request additional content; and
[0018] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting one embodiment of a
method for document extension in dictation-based document
generation workflow.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] As described above, freeform and structured input modalities
have a variety of advantages and disadvantages. In particular, it
was mentioned that a structured input modality can bias the user
toward providing the particular inputs that the structured input
modality permits, thereby potentially causing inaccurate data to be
generated. The bias imposed by structured input modalities,
however, is not always harmful. In some circumstances it can have
beneficial effects. For example, by forcing users to commit to
certain discrete input choices, such as a particular diagnosis in
the case of an electronic medical record, the resulting data may be
less accurate but more unambiguous than it would have been if a
freeform input modality had been used. Despite the potential
decrease in accuracy that results from requiring input to be
selected from among a discrete set of permissible inputs, forcing
the user to make such a selection may cause the physician or other
user to make the crucial decision about which discrete input to
select early in the process (namely, at the time of providing the
input), rather than leaving such a certain to the same user, or to
a different and less qualified user, at a later date. As a result,
the resulting data may be more likely to be useful for making
accurate decisions without the need for further review or revision
in certain circumstances, such as when the input data is to be used
to submit a medical report to a payer for a treatment plan, if such
payer requires specific diagnoses to be provided before payment can
be made.
[0020] As another example, structured input forms can be useful for
providing guidance to the user about the set of information that
must be provided and about the possible contents of such
information. For example, the presence of a form field containing
the question, "Does the patient have hypertension?," can serve as a
reminder to the user that the answer to such a question, and
possibly other information related to the patient in connection
with hypertension, is required. As a result, using forms to create
documentation can result in fewer omissions of required or
desirable information than using freeform text input. Because
different forms can be used in different contexts and to create
different kinds of documentation, forms can be tailored to prompt
the user for the information that is relevant and/or required in
each context. Therefore, one significant benefit of structured
input modalities is that they can reduce the frequency of errors in
the form of omissions of relevant and/or required data.
[0021] Embodiments of the present invention may be used to obtain
the benefit of the advantages of both freeform and structured input
modalities, while reducing or eliminating the disadvantages of both
such input modalities.
[0022] Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, in conjunction with FIG.
2, a method 200 includes applying automatic speech recognition to
an audio signal to produce a structured document representing
contents of the audio signal (210). In particular, embodiments of
the present invention may enable users to dictate information in
freeform, as if they were dictating a document to be transcribed
into a freeform transcript. An automatic speech recognition system
102 may then be used to generate a structured document 120 based on
the user's speech, where the structured document 120 encodes
concepts from the user's speech into discrete data elements. For
example, the automatic speech recognition system 102 may include a
structured document generator 104 receiving an audio signal via an
I/O device 103 (such as, for example, a microphone) and generating
the structured document 120. As another example, the automatic
speech recognition system 102 may generate a transcription 108 of
the audio signal and provide the transcription 108 to the
structured document generator 104 for generation of the structured
document 120. As shown in FIG. 1B, the structured document 120 may
include a plurality of portions (which may also be referred to as
sub-templates, sub-portions or document components). A portion in
the plurality of portions may or may not contain information--as
shown in FIG. 1B, a first portion 122 contains information 124
(e.g., "The doctor ordered blood work for diabetic Patient Smith")
but the second portion 126 does not contain any information.
Examples of techniques that may be used to create such structured
documents may be found, for example, in commonly-owned U.S. Pat.
No. 7,584,103, entitled, "Automated Extraction of Semantic Content
and Generation of a Structured Document from Speech";
commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,040, entitled, "Verification of
Extracted Data"; and the patents, patent applications, and other
documents cited therein. These techniques, however, are merely
examples of techniques that may be used to generate a structured
document 120 based on speech, and do not constitute limitations of
the present invention.
[0023] The method 200 includes determining whether the structured
document includes an indication of compliance with a best practice
to produce a conclusion (220). For example, the automatic speech
recognition system 102 may include, or be in communication with, a
structured document analyzer 106 that analyzes the structured
document 120 to determine whether the structured document 120
includes an indication of compliance with a best practice and
produces a conclusion that represents the outcome of the
determination. The structured document analyzer 106 may determine
that the structured document 120 includes an indication of
compliancy due to the presence of information within the structured
document. Alternatively, for example, the structured document
analyzer 106 may determine that the structured document 120
includes an indication of compliancy due to the absence of
information within the structured document.
[0024] The structured document analyzer 106 may determine whether
the form and/or content of the structured document 120 include the
indication of compliance with the best practice (e.g., by
determining whether the structured document 120 contains a
particular section or piece of information); in such an embodiment,
the structured document analyzer 106 may determine whether the
contents of the structured document 120 comply with the best
practice.
[0025] Additionally or alternatively, the structured document
analyzer 106 may determine whether an action or other fact
described by the structured document 120 complies with the best
practice; in such an embodiment, the structured document analyzer
106 may determine whether a fact represented by the contents of the
structured document 120 complies with the best practice. As an
example, the structured document analyzer 106 may determine that to
comply with a best practice, a particular structured document 120
should include an indication as to whether a foot examination was
performed during a patient-physician encounter (e.g., the
structured document 120 should include a statement such as "During
the visit, Dr. Jones performed a foot examination for Patient
Smith"); in determining that the structured document 120 includes
no such indication, or that the structured document 120 includes an
indication that no such examination occurred, the structured
document analyzer 106 may produce a conclusion that the
patient-physician encounter itself did not comply with the best
practice since no foot examination was performed.
[0026] Once such a structured document 120 has been created,
embodiments of the present invention may be used to automatically
provide context-dependent guidance to encourage the use of best
documentation practices by users of the system, such as the speaker
whose speech was recognized to create the structured document 120
and/or other users who are responsible for editing, reformatting,
and proofreading the document. For example, consider a case in
which a user speaks into an audio capture device (such as a
microphone connected to a desktop computer, or a handheld audio
device containing an embedded microphone, or other input/output
device 103) and in which the user has access to a computer monitor
(or other display device 105) for reviewing and signing off on the
resulting transcript. While (or after) the user dictates a freeform
report into the audio capture device, any of the techniques
referenced above may be used to generate a structured document 120
based on the user's speech. As another example, a user of a
computing device 101b (not shown) may use an input/output device
103 to provide audio signals to the computing device 101b; the
computing device 101b may transmit the audio signals to the
computing device 101 shown in FIG. 1A.
[0027] An embodiment of the present invention may include or have
access to information about best practices for use in connection
with the report dictated by the user. Such best practices may, for
example, include rules, guidelines, or preferences related to any
one or more of the following: [0028] information that must be
included in the report (such as the patient's name and date of the
patient's visit); and [0029] actions that are required to be taken
before the report can be completed (such as performing a particular
procedure, such as a foot exam, on the patient during the visit
described in the report).
[0030] Embodiments of the present invention may use a single set of
best practices for all reports, or may use different sets of best
practices to different reports. For example, a distinct set of best
practices may apply to each of a plurality of report types and/or
content. For any particular report, the set of best practices
corresponding to the report's type (or corresponding to content in
the report) may be applied to the report. As another example, a
generic (e.g., universal) set of best practices may be applied to
all reports in addition to specific sets of best practices based on
report types and/or content. These and other examples may be
combined with each other in any of a variety of ways.
[0031] The best practices may be represented and stored in any of a
variety of ways, as will be understood by those having ordinary
skill in the art. For example, best practices may take the form of
rules that operate on discrete data elements in structured reports
120. For example, a best practice rule may dictate that if the
discrete data elements in a structured report 120 indicate that the
patient described by the report has diabetes, then the structured
report 120 must indicate whether a foot exam was performed on the
patient because it is a best practice to perform regular foot exams
on diabetic patients. Such rules may operate on freeform text in
addition to or instead of discrete data elements.
[0032] Best practices need not take the form of rules.
Alternatively or additional for example, they may take the form of
heuristics or procedures for drawing conclusions about whether a
particular report is missing required (or recommended) data,
includes data that it is prohibited from including (or that is
advisable not to include), or otherwise fails to comply with or
falls short of any required or desired standard applicable to the
report.
[0033] The structured document analyzer 106 may identify a best
practice based on data from a variety of sources, such as any one
or more of the report itself, other reports (such as other reports
related to the same patient or subject), database records (such as
electronic medical records (EMRs)), or any other source of data.
For example, the structured document analyzer 106 may analyze a
data source relating to an event to which the structured document
120 relates to identify the best practice.
[0034] A structured report 120, once created, may be displayed to
the user who dictated the report and/or to other users in any of a
variety of ways. For example, the structured report 120 may be
displayed as a document containing the text of the report, visually
structured into sections (such as by adding section headings before
each section or by emphasizing dictated section headings), and with
discrete data elements (such as dates, medications, allergies, and
diagnoses) emphasized or otherwise formatted to indicate that they
are discrete data elements and/or to indicate the types of such
discrete data elements. The structured report 120, in other words,
may be rendered in a format that generally resembles that of a
plain text document rendered by a conventional word processor, but
with the structured elements of the document (e.g., sections and
lower-level concepts) visually emphasized or otherwise
indicated.
[0035] As mentioned above, the structured document analyzer 106 may
produce a conclusion 114, such as a conclusion 114 that certain
required information is missing from the report. Embodiments of the
present invention may provide guidance to the user to provide
input, such as additions to, deletions from, or modifications to
the structured report 120 to cause the structured report 120 to
conform to the best practices or to reduce the extent to which the
structured report 120 fails to conform to the best practices.
[0036] Such guidance may be repeated for each of a plurality of
best practices, and the kind and content of guidance may be the
same or vary for each such best practice. Similarly, the same best
practice may be applied multiple times to the same structured
report 120, such as by applying the same best practice to multiple
portions of the same structured report 120, thereby resulting in
multiple instances of guidance within the same structured report
120 based on the same best practice.
[0037] The method 200 includes inserting content into the
structured document, based on the conclusion, to produce a modified
structured document (230). The automatic speech recognition system
102 may update the structured document 120 to include the user
input; for example, the structured document generator 104 may
include functionality for updating generated structured documents.
In such an example, the structured document generator 104 may
receive user input from the structured document analyzer 106 and
update the structured document 120 with the user input. As another
example, the structured document analyzer 106 may transmit an
instruction to the structured document generator 104 to generate a
prompt within the structured document 120. The structured document
generator 104 may render the modified structured document for
review by the user. FIG. 1D, described in greater detail below,
provides an example of a modified structured document 121.
[0038] Although depicted in FIG. 1A as executing within the
automatic speech recognition system 102, the structured document
generator 104 and the structured document analyzer 106 may be
provided as separate components in communication with the automatic
speech recognition system 102. Referring now to FIG. 1C, and by way
of example, the automatic speech recognition system 102 may
transmit a transcription 108 of an audio signal to a stand-alone
separate structured document generator 104, which in turn may
transmit a structured document 120 to the structured document
analyzer 106. In some embodiments, the structured document
generator 104 and the structured document analyzer 106 may be
provided as part of a report generation component (not shown); for
example, the structured document generator 104 and the structured
document analyzer 106 may be provided as plug-ins, add-ons or other
extensions to software for generating components.
[0039] Embodiments of the present invention may provide output to
the user to prompt the user to provide the input mentioned above
for revising the structured report 120. Such prompting output may
take any of a variety of forms. For example, a prompt (such as a
window or a dialog box) that is distinct from the rendering of the
report itself may be displayed to the user to prompt the user to
provide input (e.g., by displaying the question "Was a foot exam
performed on the patient?"). The user may provide such input in
response to the distinct prompt, in response to which the system
may update the structured report 120 accordingly (such as by adding
a word, phrase, or sentence to the report representing the user's
input, or by checking off an appropriate box in the report). The
user may provide the input in freeform or in a structured form; for
example, where the prompt includes an open-ended question, the user
may provide the input in freeform. As an alternative example, when
the prompt includes a closed question, the user may provide the
input in a structured form. The form of the input provided in
response to the prompt may differ from the form originally used to
generate the structured document 120; for example, the structured
document 120 may have been generated based on freeform speech,
while the prompt may prompt for and receive input in the form of
structured data, or vice versa.
[0040] As another example, a prompt may be displayed within the
rendering of the report itself. Such a prompt may, for example,
take the form of text appended to or inserted into the rendering of
the report at an appropriate location. For example, if application
of a best practice rule leads to the conclusion that the report is
missing information about whether a foot exam was performed on the
patient, and if the report contains a section on procedures
performed on the patient during the current visit, then a prompt
such as "Foot exam performed?" may be inserted into that section.
The text input cursor may then be positioned immediately after this
prompt, or the user may otherwise be notified of the prompt and
given an opportunity to provide input directly into the document
(such as by typing text) after the prompt.
[0041] Upon receiving input from the user, the system may update
the report to include the input. For example, the system may insert
the user input into the report substantially at or near the
location of the prompt within the structured document 120; in such
an example, the system may either maintain the prompt or remove the
prompt from the location.
[0042] As another example, the prompt may take the form of a form
field, such as a text field, check box, or dropdown list, into
which the user may directly provide input in response to the
prompt. An appropriate label (such as "Foot exam performed?") may
be displayed near the form field to guide the user in providing
input into the form field. The user may then provide input directly
into the form field to cause the structured document 120 to be
updated in accordance with the corresponding best practice.
Referring to FIG. 1D, a block diagram depicts one example of a
modified structured document 121. As shown in the example depicted
in FIG. 1D, a modified structured document 121 may include a
plurality of portions (which may also be referred to as
sub-templates, sub-portions or document components). In the example
shown in FIG. 1D, the modified structured document 121 is a version
of the structured document 120 and includes the first portion 122,
including information 124, and the second portion 126, which does
not include any information. However, in the modified structured
document 121, unlike in the structured document 120, the second
portion 126 includes a prompt 128 and a label 130. The prompt 128
in this example is a text field into which a user may provide
missing information. The label 130, displayed near the prompt 128,
draws attention to the prompt 128 and provides guidance as to a
type of information requested.
[0043] More generally, embodiments of the present invention may be
contained within and/or operate in conjunction with a report
generation procedure. Prompts provided by embodiments of the
present invention may be part of and integrated into the report
generation procedure. As a particular example, prompts may be
integrated into the report itself. For example, as described
elsewhere herein, as a report is being generated (and therefore
after part of the report has been generated but before the entire
report has been generated), any of the prompts disclosed herein may
be provided to the user. Such prompts may be added or otherwise
integrated into the report as the report is being generated.
Similarly, input provided in response to such prompts may be added
to or otherwise used to generate data that is added to the report
as the report is being generated.
[0044] As one example of the above, a prompt may be a report
sub-template, and such a sub-template may be inserted into the
report while the report is being generated. A report sub-template
may, for example, include one or more of a plurality of any kind(s)
of form fields. For example, if an embodiment of the present
invention determines that a particular portion of the report
describes or otherwise relates to a particular type of medical
procedure, in response to such a determination a report
sub-template corresponding to the particular type of medical
procedure may be identified and inserted into the report at the
current location within the report. Such an inserted report
sub-template may include content (e.g., text) that is added to the
report and/or form fields (or other kinds of prompts) to obtain
input from the user to insert into the report within the inserted
report sub-template. The report sub-template and any data entered
by users into the report sub-template may become part of the final
report. As in the examples provided above regarding inserting, into
the structured document 120, input provided in response to a
prompt, the system may receive input from a user in response to the
report sub-template and incorporate the user input into the report
sub-template; and, as above, the system may determine to maintain
or remove the prompt after the insertion of the user input. In
examples in which the prompt is provided as a user interface
element (e.g., a window displaying text, the window rendered as
part of the report generation system), the system may determine
whether to continue rendering the user interface element or to
remove the user interface element from a display after the user
input has been received.
[0045] As described above, the system may prompt the user to
provide input representing missing information. For example, when a
best practice indicates that a particular type of content (such as
a particular concept, e.g., report section or fact) should be
included in a particular type of report, but the structured
document analyzer 106 determines that the structured document 120
does not contain the particular type of content, the content is
said to be missing from the report. By way of example, if a best
practice requires that a type of report include information
indicating that a foot examination was performed on a patient but
the structured document 120 does not include information indicating
that a foot exam was performed, then information relating to a foot
exam is said to be "missing" from the report.
[0046] However, embodiments of the present invention are not
limited to prompting the user to provide input representing missing
information. As another example, embodiments of the present
invention may automatically update the structured report 120 with
the missing information, an estimate of the missing information, or
an indication that such information is missing, without receiving
input from the user. For example, if the structured document
analyzer 106 determines that to comply with a particular best
practice, the report is required to indicate whether a foot exam
was performed and the report does not indicate whether a foot exam
was performed, embodiments of the present invention may take any of
a variety of actions, such as updating the report to indicate that
no information is available about whether a foot exam was performed
(e.g., by inserting the text "Foot exam performed? No information
available"), or by retrieving information about whether a foot exam
was performed from an electronic medical record associated with the
same patient and inserting that information automatically into the
report (e.g., by inserting the text "Foot exam performed? Yes")
into the report. As another example, the system may prompt a user
to take an action. For instance; the structured document analyzer
106 may determine whether a fact represented by the structured
document 120 complies with the best practice; if the described
facts are determined not to comply with the best practice, then the
system may prompt the user to take an action that complies with the
best practice. As an example, the system may prompt a reviewer of
the structured document 120 to perform a foot exam in an embodiment
in which the structured document 120 is being generated during a
patient visit; the system may also prompt a reviewer of the
structured document 120 to schedule, or arrange to have scheduled,
a follow-up appointment with a patient to take an additional action
(such as to perform a foot exam). The system may also prompt a
reviewer of the structured document 120 to follow up with a
practitioner to determine how to address the missing information
(for example, a user reviewing the structured document 120 may be
prompted to contact the physician who originally generated the
audio signals and determine how the physician prefers to obtain the
missing information or complete an incomplete task). In some
embodiments, therefore, the system prompts a human user to take an
action, receives input from the human user, the input indicating a
status of the action, and inserts the input as content into the
structured document 120. As with the examples above, such
automatically generated information could be inserted into the
structured report 120 in other ways, such as by inserting it into
form fields or using it to provide input to user interface controls
such as checkboxes or dropdown lists.
[0047] Any information inserted automatically into a report may be
marked as "automatically generated." When the report is rendered,
such automatically generated information may be flagged as such,
such as by highlighting such information in a particular color, to
call attention to the fact that such information was generated
automatically and not input manually by a human. The user may even
be specifically prompted to review and, if necessary, edit such
information.
[0048] Any of the techniques described above may be performed while
a particular report is being transcribed or after the report has
been transcribed. For example, after a particular portion of a
report has been transcribed, best practices may be applied to that
portion of the report in any of the ways disclosed above, even as
the user continues to dictate additional portions of the report and
even as such portions are transcribed to generated additional
text.
[0049] Furthermore, any of the techniques described above may be
used in connection with a single user or multiple users across any
number of computing devices. For example, a single user may dictate
a report and also provide additional input in response to prompts
generated based on application of best practices to the report. As
another example, a first user may dictate the report and a second
user may provide additional input in response to prompts generated
based on application of best practices to the report.
[0050] Embodiments of the present invention have a variety of
advantages. For example, embodiments of the present invention
combine some of the advantages of freeform input modalities with
some of the advantages of structured input modalities, while
reducing or eliminating some of the disadvantages of both. In
particular, embodiments of the present invention combine the
ability of freeform input modalities to enable users to provide
unbiased and nuanced input with the ability of structured input
modalities to enforce requirements that certain kinds of data be
input. One way in which embodiments of the present invention
achieve this result is by enabling the user to first provide input
using a freeform input modality, then determining whether the input
includes an indication of compliance with one or more best
practices, and then extending the resulting report (either
automatically or based on additional input from the user) based on
conclusions drawn from the determination. The report extension may
involve obtaining input from the user using a structured input
modality, such as by obtaining input from the user in a form field.
By requesting and obtaining such structured input from the user
only if and when necessary, embodiments of the present invention
avoid predisposing the user toward providing input that is biased
in the way caused by conventional structured input modalities.
[0051] Another benefit of embodiments of the present invention is
that they may increase the accuracy of the resulting report, either
by guiding the user toward providing more complete information that
is compliant with best practices, or by obtaining and inserting
such information into the report automatically. Reduced errors and
higher degrees of completeness can be particularly beneficial in
contexts, such as medical reporting, in which the accuracy and
completeness of reports can have an impact on human health and
safety, and in which accurate and complete reports are necessary to
comply with regulations and to obtain reimbursement for the
procedures that resulted in the reports.
[0052] Yet another advantage of embodiments of the present
invention is that by reminding a physician and/or other user to
take a recommended or required action (such as performing a
procedure on a patient), the user can be reminded to take such
action and thereby be more likely to take the action. Even if the
user is reminded of the action to take at a time when it is no
longer possible to take the action in connection with the event
that led to the creation of the report (such as a patient visit),
the user may be reminded of the need to take the action in similar
circumstances in the future. In this way, embodiments of the
present invention may serve to educate users and to increase the
likelihood that they will take recommended and/or required actions
in the future.
[0053] Another advantage of embodiments of the present invention is
that they may be used to encourage or require users to provide
input that is useful and/or required for subsequent processing,
such as information that is required to generate a bill for
reimbursement of healthcare services. For example, if a report is
input solely in the form of freeform text using conventional
methods, it might be difficult to extract information needed for
billing from such text. For example, if a freeform text report
describes a surgery performed on a patient and, in the course of
describing the surgery, describes not only stents that actually
were inserted into the patient but also stents that were attempted
to be inserted into the patient without success, it might be
difficult or impossible to automatically extract from such a report
the number of stents that actually were inserted into the patient.
Yet it may be necessary to provide such a number to generate a bill
that may be used to obtain reimbursement for the surgery. If
instead, using embodiments of the present invention, the physician
or other user is required to provide the number of stents actually
inserted as a discrete data element using a structured input
modality, then the bill may be generated automatically because the
system has enforced the requirement that information necessary to
generate the bill be provided as input. The same logic applies to
any information that is contained within a document but is
difficult to extract discretely and automatically.
[0054] Yet another benefit of embodiments of the present invention
is that they may be used to reconcile existing stored data (such as
discrete data, e.g., data stored in an EMR or other database
record) with data input into a report. For example, if the
dictating physician indicates that a patient has uncontrolled
diabetes and existing data (e.g., data for the patient stored in an
EMR) already indicates that the patient has diabetes but does not
indicate whether the diabetes is uncontrolled, embodiments of the
present invention may be used to revise the existing data (e.g.,
EMR) about the patient to specify that the patient's diabetes is
uncontrolled.
[0055] It is to be understood that although the invention has been
described above in terms of particular embodiments, the foregoing
embodiments are provided as illustrative only, and do not limit or
define the scope of the invention. Various other embodiments,
including but not limited to the following, are also within the
scope of the claims. For example, elements and components described
herein may be further divided into additional components or joined
together to form fewer components for performing the same
functions.
[0056] The techniques described above may be implemented, for
example, in hardware, software tangibly stored on a
computer-readable medium, firmware, or any combination thereof. The
techniques described above may be implemented in one or more
computer programs executing on a programmable computer including a
processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including,
for example, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage
elements), at least one input device, and at least one output
device. Program code may be applied to input entered using the
input device to perform the functions described and to generate
output. The output may be provided to one or more output
devices.
[0057] Each computer program within the scope of the claims below
may be implemented in any programming language, such as assembly
language, machine language, a high-level procedural programming
language, or an object-oriented programming language. The
programming language may, for example, be a compiled or interpreted
programming language.
[0058] Each such computer program may be implemented in a computer
program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage
device for execution by a computer processor. Method steps of the
invention may be performed by a computer processor executing a
program tangibly embodied on a computer-readable medium to perform
functions of the invention by operating on input and generating
output. Suitable processors include, by way of example, both
general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, the
processor receives instructions and data from a read-only memory
and/or a random access memory. Storage devices suitable for
tangibly embodying computer program instructions include, for
example, all forms of non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor
memory devices, including EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices;
magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;
magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROMs. Any of the foregoing may be
supplemented by, or incorporated in, specially-designed ASICs
(application-specific integrated circuits) or FPGAs
(Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). A computer can generally also
receive programs and data from a storage medium such as an internal
disk (not shown) or a removable disk. These elements will also be
found in a conventional desktop or workstation computer as well as
other computers suitable for executing computer programs
implementing the methods described herein, which may be used in
conjunction with any digital print engine or marking engine,
display monitor, or other raster output device capable of producing
color or gray scale pixels on paper, film, display screen, or other
output medium.
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