<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_005_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b1Aa"><h3>Purpose</h3><p>The current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge.</p></sec><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_006_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b2Aa"><h3>Design/methodology/approach</h3><p>We propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our design, implementation, and evaluation of the ontology at its initial stage.</p></sec><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_007_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b3Aa"><h3>Findings</h3><p>We describe the design and initial outcomes of the ontology implementation. The evaluation results demonstrate the clinical validity of the ontology by a self-developed survey measurement.</p></sec><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_008_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b4Aa"><h3>Research limitations</h3><p>The proposed ontology was developed and evaluated using a small number of information sources. Presently, US data are used, but they are not essential for the ultimate structure of the ontology.</p></sec><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_009_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b5Aa"><h3>Practical implications</h3><p>The goal of improving patient safety can be aided through investigating patient safety reports and providing actionable knowledge to clinical practitioners. As such, constructing a domain specific ontology for patient safety reports serves as a cornerstone in information collection and text mining methods.</p></sec><sec id="j_jdis.201615_s_010_w2aab2b8c32b1b7b1aab1c15b6Aa"><h3>Originality/value</h3><p>The use of ontologies provides abstracted representation of semantic information and enables a wealth of applications in a reporting system. Therefore, constructing such a knowledge base is recognized as a high priority in health care.</p></sec></abstract>

PurposeThe current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge.Design/methodology/approachWe propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our design, implementation, and evaluation of the ontology at its initial stage.FindingsWe describe the design and initial outcomes of the ontology implementation. The evaluation results demonstrate the clinical validity of the ontology by a self-developed survey measurement.Research limitationsThe proposed ontology was developed and evaluated using a small number of information sources. Presently, US data are used, but they are not essential for the ultimate structure of the ontology.Practical implicationsThe goal of improving patient safety can be aided through investigating patient safety reports and providing actionable knowledge to clinical practitioners. As such, constructing a domain specific ontology for patient safety reports serves as a cornerstone in information collection and text mining methods.Originality/valueThe use of ontologies provides abstracted representation of semantic information and enables a wealth of applications in a reporting system. Therefore, constructing such a knowledge base is recognized as a high priority in health care.

Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Journal of Data and Information Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach"}

PurposeThe current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed...

Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Sep 01, 2017

Page range: 75 - 91

Received: Nov 10, 2015

Accepted: May 06, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20309/jdis.201615

Keywords
Patient safety, Medical error, Knowledge representation, Health information technology, Ontology

© 2016 Chen Liang, Yang Gong

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Sep 01, 2017

Page range: 75 - 91

Received: Nov 10, 2015

Accepted: May 06, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20309/jdis.201615

KeywordsPatient safety, Medical error, Knowledge representation, Health information technology, Ontology

© 2016 Chen Liang, Yang Gong

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Patient safety, Medical error, Knowledge representation, Health information technology, Ontology