An Ontology-Based Architecture to Support Language Variants of Model-Driven Electronic Health Records

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Informatics
• Ontology Engineering

Background:

• Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems often lack support for multiple language variants.
• Clinical information models are crucial for defining EHR system structure and functionality.
• The need for multilingual EHRs is increasing in global healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation of tools supporting multilingual clinical information models.
• To demonstrate the creation of a complete EHR system with multiple language variants.
• To evaluate the usability of developed EHR tools through a multilingual workshop.

Main Methods:

• Development of a clinical information model as an ontology in English.
• Translation of the ontology into Spanish and Mandarin.
• Refinement of modeling tools based on initial translation experiences.
• Conducting a workshop for participants to create new language variants using the tools.

Main Results:

• Successful creation of tools supporting multiple language variants for clinical information models.
• Demonstration of a model-driven EHR system supporting multilingual variants.
• Generation of additional language variants (German, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Somali) during the workshop.
• Identification of lessons learned for future tool improvement.

Conclusions:

• The developed tools effectively support the creation of multilingual clinical information models and EHR systems.
• The methodology provides a viable approach for extending EHR systems to diverse linguistic populations.
• Further refinement of the tools is necessary based on user feedback and workshop outcomes.