An On-line Explanation of the Medical Record to Patients via an Artificial Intelligence Approach

Introduction The importance of providing the public with more information about health issues is widely accepted. Improved patient education may lead to reduced hospital admissions and length of stay, less use of emergency facilities, and a better quality of life for the patients concerned [1,2,3]. Computers have been successfully used in patient education [3,4,5], complementing traditional means such as doctor-patient dialogue, written leaflets and audio-visual materials [6]. One problem, however, with existing approaches is that the information provided is over-general, not targetted at the particular patient's problems and interests [6]. One way around this is to make the starting point of patient education the medical record. Patients may be provided with on-line access to their record, with explanations available of terms in that record. This approach combines the advantages of a more personalised type of patient education with the benefits (and legal requirements) of a