Semi-supervised encoding for outlier detection in clinical observation data.

Journal: Computer methods and programs in biomedicine
Published Date:

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Electronic Health Record (EHR) data often include observation records that are unlikely to represent the "truth" about a patient at a given clinical encounter. Due to their high throughput, examples of such implausible observations are frequent in records of laboratory test results and vital signs. Outlier detection methods can offer low-cost solutions to flagging implausible EHR observations. This article evaluates the utility of a semi-supervised encoding approach (super-encoding) for constructing non-linear exemplar data distributions from EHR observation data and detecting non-conforming observations as outliers.

Authors

  • Hossein Estiri
    Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Partners Healthcare, Somerville, MA, USA. Electronic address: hestiri@hms.harvard.edu.
  • Shawn N Murphy