Health Language Technology Translates Medical Terminology and Administrative Billing Codes into Consumer-Friendly Terms

Business Wire,  June 18, 2008  

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New Tool Links Medical Terms and Billing Codes with Layperson Terminology to Improve Usability of Data by Consumers, Physicians and Health Plans

SAN FRANCISCO -- Health Language, Inc. (HLI), the world's leading supplier of "language engine" technology, today announced a powerful, new content set that allows for translation of medical terminology and billing codes into easily-understood consumer terminology for streamlined communication of patient data to consumers, physicians and health plans.

Associating clinical terms and diagnosis codes with consumer-friendly terms enables consumers to read and understand their explanation of benefits statement (EOB), as well as search their health plan-provided personal health records (PHR) using layperson vocabulary for information about their diagnosed condition(s).

Because HLI can perform language transversal, patient-entered PHR information can be efficiently extracted and securely relayed to the health plan's administrative system and to the provider's electronic medical record (EMR) system. This ability to seamlessly exchange medical data, billing codes and consumer terms between physicians, health plans and members contributes to a higher level of understanding by all parties in the delivery of healthcare services, care management services and patient education.

"Our ability to speak in the distinct language of each stakeholder will shift the information flow paradigm in healthcare," said George Schwend, chief executive officer and president for HLI. "Consumers, physicians and health plans will benefit from a new level of transparency in clinical information and administrative processes, leading to increased clinician productivity, patient satisfaction and compliance with care management protocols."

Traditional medical and administrative terminology tends to confuse rather than educate the patient. For example, a 410.90 code, which represents a diagnosis of "acute myocardial infarction, unspecified site, episode of care unspecified," is meaningless to most consumers. However, by translating the administrative code and medical term into the commonly understood "acute heart attack" diagnosis, patients are able to search for relevant information within the PHR using that common term.

Added Schwend, "We know that having a greater understanding about medical care and associated costs can motivate patients to better manage their health conditions. The challenge is that many PHRs are partly based on claims data, including diagnosis and procedure codes, which makes the information difficult to decipher. Thus, by transforming the PHR into a consumer-friendly platform, we will positively impact patient wellness."

In another example of language transversal, if a patient enters information about a past heart attack into their PHR, this term will be translated into the appropriate code, which will then be relayed through the health plan's administrative system into the claims and care management systems, resulting in enhanced clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

The HLI content team, consisting of physicians, nurses, professional coders, and health terminology experts, converted the medical descriptions of the billable diagnosis codes used in the U.S. into consumer-friendly terms. HLI's experts used their well-proven content methods to ensure readability and comprehensibility of the final language.

About Health Language Inc.

Aurora, Colo.-based Health Language, Inc.([R]) (HLI) develops and delivers state-of-the-art software solutions that automatically incorporate medical vocabulary and coding standards into healthcare information technology (HCIT) applications. HLI's Language Engine([R]) (LE([R])) allows centralized access to medical terminology standards and generates mappings to create a common pool of standardized codes and concepts that enhance patient safety, facilitate clinical outcomes analysis and accelerate reimbursement. It also provides standards for modeling, storing, updating and distributing information consistently for interoperability between hospitals, regions and countries. For more information, visit www.healthlanguage.com or call 303.307.4400.

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