PatternFinder in Microsoft Amalga: Temporal Query Formulation and Result Visualization in Action

As electronic health records (EHR) become more widespread, they enable clinicians and researchers to pose complex queries that can benefit immediate patient care and deepen understanding of medical treatment and outcomes. However, current query tools make complex temporal queries difficult to pose, and physicians have to rely on computer professionals to specify the queries for them. This paper describes our efforts to develop a novel query tool implemented in a large operational system at the Washington Hospital Center (Microsoft Amalga, formerly known as Azyxxi). We describe our design of the interface to specify temporal patterns and the visual presentation of results, then summarize the feedback gathered during early testing with physicians. The use case described in the paper focuses on adverse reactions following radiology studies using contrast.