It's all relative: usage of relative temporal expressions in triage notes

摘要

At the beginning of a patient's visit to the Emergency Department (ED), a record is created containing the ChiefrnComplaint and the Triage Note. The Triage Note attempts to capture the events and circumstances leading uprnto the decision to visit the ED. Events in the triage note are often not recorded in the order in which theyrnoccurred but rather in the order in which they are reported. In addition, patients typically do not use absoluternterms to describe the timing of these events. Instead, they rely on relative phrases such as yesterday and thisrnmorning. Using a temporal information extraction system, we examine the variation in frequency of thesernrelative temporal expressions over time of day. We then suggest interpretation rules for translating this 'naturalrntime' used by people to the 'logical time' necessary for the automatic placement of the associated events in thernproper sequence on a timeline. The research described here serves as a building block to support thernautomated creation of timelines with the goal of aiding clinicians and others in visualizing the patterns of eventsrnwhich led to the patient's visit to the Emergency Department.