Implementing an interface terminology for structured clinical documentation.

Clinically oriented interface terminologies support interactions between humans and computer programs that accept structured entry of healthcare information. This manuscript describes efforts over the past decade to introduce an interface terminology called CHISL (Categorical Health Information Structured Lexicon) into clinical practice as part of a computer-based documentation application at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Vanderbilt supports a spectrum of electronic documentation modalities, ranging from transcribed dictation, to a partial template of free-form notes, to strict, structured data capture.

Generating complex clinical documents using structured entry and reporting.

Structured entry and reporting in medicine remains an elusive goal. Poor adoption of clinical structured entry for documentation results in part from the inherent complexity of entering patient histories, which are generally unstructured. The authors have developed a structured entry tool that has been adopted by practicing physicians for documentation of clinical encounters.

Quill: a novel approach to structured reporting.

The authors will demonstrate Quill (QUestions and Information Logically Linked), a comprehensive structured reporting environment for ambulatory care that was developed at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A notes capture tool was sought with the immediate hope of decreasing or eliminating transcription costs (currently around $6M/yr) and paper based processing while providing a foundation for decision support and research in the future.