Information for Patients and the Public
What is the Clinical Informatics Service (CIS)?
The Clinical Informatics Service (CIS) explores how we can work with the information that health services collect in patient electronic health records to improve patient care and make healthcare systems more effective. Patient healthcare records contain a huge amount of data which need to be managed and organised in order for clinicians to do their jobs effectively.
What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?
The CIS uses algorithms that combine information entered in different parts of patients’ health care records to help clinicians find what they need to know more quickly. We use an artificial intelligence (AI) method called Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract important information from text in healthcare records in a way that is much quicker and easier than manually searching thousands of records. NLP can be used to extract information on both patient care (e.g., medications and treatment plans) and social determinants of health (e.g., occupation and housing).
How can we use NLP to improve mental health services?
The CIS uses information extracted by NLP algorithms to create graphical representations of patient healthcare records (i.e., visual elements such as charts, graphs and maps) which help clinicians to make decisions about patient care and ensure that more people are receiving the right support for their mental and physical health needs. We can look at information for groups of patients as well as individuals, helping us understand whether our services are working equitably and effectively. The information extracted using NLP can also be anonymised and then used in research studies to identify trends and patterns in large patient populations. This can help researchers and clinicians make decisions about public health.
What is the Clinical Informatics Service (CIS) Advisory Group?
The Clinical Informatics Service (CIS) Advisory Group was launched in January 2024 to provide advice and feedback to the CIS and researchers working on Natural Language Processing (NLP) studies. The CIS Advisory Group meets every two months and aims to identify the priorities of SLaM service users and carers for how clinical health record data should be used for research and informing patient care. All Advisory Group members are compensated for their time and provided with training on clinical informatics and NLP development.
How can I get involved?
If you would like more information about the CIS Advisory Group or if you are interested in becoming a member of the group, please contact Zoe Chui (zoe.chui@slam.nhs.uk).
Information for Researchers
The Clinical Informatics Service (CIS) Advisory Group was launched in January 2024 to provide advice and feedback to the CIS when planning new data visualisations for clinicians and to researchers working on Natural Language Processing (NLP) studies. The CIS Advisory Group meets every two months and aims to identify the priorities of SLaM service users and carers for how clinical health record data should be used for research and informing patient care. The Advisory Group is open to researchers from the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) using existing NLP applications or developing new applications. NLP projects can be presented to the Advisory Group at any stage, from development and implementation through to evaluation and dissemination. The CIS Advisory Group can provide a service user and carer perspective on your study, improving the quality and relevance of your project and linking it to translational work using NLP methods to improve patient care in South London and Maudsley NHS trust. The group is an example of Patient and Public Involvement, which can improve the rigour, quality and relevance of your research.
If you are a researcher conducting a NLP-based project and would like to consult the Advisory Group, please contact Jyoti Sanyal (Jyoti.jyoti@slam.nhs.uk).
