Free text search of EHRs bested current automated method

A natural language processing search that extracts specific medical concepts via free text searches of electronic health records identified more postoperative surgical complications vs. the current automated method based upon discharge codes, according to new findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Administrative codes are inexpensive to obtain and readily available; however, there are major concerns regarding how accurately administration codes reflect actual substandard quality of care,” Harvey J. Murff, MD, MPH, of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tenn., said in an interview. “While manual chart review is more accurate, it is costly and logistically difficult to implement on a large-scale basis. Using free text searches of electronic medical records represents a potentially cost-effective and accurate means of monitoring patient safety and should be extended to other quality-of-care measures.”