A study in Journal of Medical Internet Research: Medical Informatics investigated how natural language processing can be applied to EHR documentation.
Developing a new process for documentation is noteworthy for patient care, since many physicians have complained about EHRs being time consuming and inefficient. The researchers analyzed four documentation protocols to determine how documentation time, quality and usability compare between natural language processing with dictation methods and standard keyboard-and-mouse input method for EHRs.
The researchers concluded that natural language processing and dictation-based approaches to EHR data input have the potential to reduce time required for documentation while also improving usability.