Week 7: Word of Mouth

Hi everyone, and welcome to Week 7 of my senior project! As I mentioned last week, I would need to create my own dataset as I needed to install MSSQL to use the patient management software that I found on Github. Therefore, I needed to create my own sample dataset. 

Columns Included

This week, I focused on figuring out the columns I would need to establish an accurate dataset. Since I can’t use actual patient data, I spoke with Dr. Kalai, my external advisor, to format my data so it is as accurate to an actual Electronic Health Record (EHR) as possible. During our meeting, I had the opportunity to learn more about what is included inside a patient’s file. Here are the categories:

Essentially, the PatientID column consists of a numerical sequence to identify each patient. Their AppointmentDate comprises of the date of their last scheduled appointment. MedicalHistory includes any past procedures that they’ve had, such as root canal treatments or wisdom tooth extraction. The Intra and Oral-Exam categories include any information on the patient’s oral health if there is anything worth noting such as dark pigmentation or issues with their lips.

During our conversation, I learned that a patient’s medical history (outside of just oral history) is also included, which can consist of surgeries such as hip replacement, slipped disc, or a knee replacement. This is important because the dentist would want to make sure that they know of any metal in their body. If so, they would provide pre-medication which is an antibiotic given to the patient before their procedure. 

I was also curious as to whether anything in the patient’s medical history could affect the treatment that they’re now receiving. I learned that any past surgeries that are worth noting, are included in the patient’s file through a color-coded system so that the dentist is aware of anything that could affect the treatment they are now receiving. For example, if a patient is pregant, this would be included in their file since it is recommended for them to get any dental work in their second trimester or six weeks after pregnancy. This is the safest period as the fetus is still developing in the first trimester and it’s fully developed in the third, so any procedures could also affect its health. Therefore, it is recommended that patients don’t perform an oral surgery within a certain period of time after performing another surgery. 

New Patients

When asking Dr. Kalai how she handles patients whose medical history is not in the system, I learned that new patients must fill out a form that asks if they’ve had any procedures, whether dental or medical. This improves transparency between the patient and doctor as the doctor now knows of anything that could affect their oral health. Similarly, I plan on incorporating a similar system in my chatbot to reduce the amount of NaNs. If the patient’s ID number is found in the system but there is no data on their medical history, the chatbot will ask them to fill out a form to learn how to provide the best personalized treatments for their needs. 

Conclusion

I am currently in the process of creating this dataset. Since the dataset I had previously created to run my basic dental chatbot consists of similar categories, I plan on adding onto it by adding the Intra and Extra-oral exam categories. That is all for this week! Thank you so much for reading and please let me know if you have any questio