Interactive query workstation: a demonstration of the practical use of UMLS knowledge sources

The Interactive Query Workstation (IQW) has been developed to provide clinicians with a uniform program interface for retrieving medical-related information from various computer-based information resources. These resources can vary in content (bibliographic databases, drug information, general medical text databases), function (article retrieval, differential diagnosis, drug interaction detection, or drug dosage and administration information), and media formats (local hard disk, CD-ROM, local area network, or distant telecommunication link). IQW allows modular addition of new resources as well as extension of previously installed resources. The National Library of Medicine's three Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Knowledge Sources, the Metathesaurus (Meta), the Semantic Network, and the Information Sources Map (ISM) have been incorporated into many aspects of IQW. Meta provides information about medical terminology and aids IQW in isolating the basic concepts from a clinician's question. The Semantic Network provides information about the categorization of concepts and possible relations between concepts. It also assists IQW in determining which queries are appropriate for a set of concepts contained in the clinician's question. The ISM provides information about the content available from a computer-based resources and aids IQW in selecting an appropriate resource from which to collect information. The computer-based resource selection is performed without user intervention. This interactive demonstration shows an environment which increases the accessibility of medical information to clinicians by utilizing the three UMLS Knowledge Sources.