Veterinary informatics
The increasing reliance on practice management software (PMS) systems by veterinary practices means that much of the data collected during patient encounters is captured within an electronic patient record (EPR).
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of extracting clinical data from veterinary EPRs, using a method that would work across PMS systems, and to assess the value of the data extracted for practice-based research.
A method of extraction using an extensible mark-up language schema to extract EPRs was developed. Analysis of the clinical information was performed using content analysis and text mining software.
Key findings:
• Line on XML extraction method works to get EPR data.
• Wordstat works.
• The aggregation of patient data, by extracting and analysing EPRs, is a useful way to identify common conditions seen in veterinary practice.
• Veterinary informatics methods can be applied experimentally to create evidence for practicing veterinarians on disease prevalence in first opinion veterinary practice from clinically oriented practical research.
• The availability of high quality evidence provided by informatics research is a useful method to support clinical practice.
For further details follow the links to see poster presentations given at the Nottingham Research Showcase in 2012 and AMIA 2013.
Contacts: Julie Jones-Diette, Rachel Dean, Marnie Brennan, Malcolm Cobb