Validation of the Total Visual Acuity Extraction Algorithm (TOVA) for Automated Extraction of Visual Acuity Data From Free Text, Unstructured Clinical Records

PURPOSE: With increasing volumes of electronic health record data, algorithm-driven extraction may aid manual extraction. Visual acuity often is extracted manually in vision research. The total visual acuity extraction algorithm (TOVA) is presented and validated for automated extraction of visual acuity from free text, unstructured clinical notes. METHODS: Consecutive inpatient ophthalmology notes over an 8-year period from the University of Washington healthcare system in Seattle, WA were used for validation of TOVA. The total visual acuity extraction algorithm applied natural language processing to recognize Snellen visual acuity in free text notes and assign laterality. The best corrected measurement was determined for each eye and converted to logMAR. The algorithm was validated against manual extraction of a subset of notes. RESULTS: A total of 6266 clinical records were obtained giving 12,452 data points. In a subset of 644 validated notes, comparison of manually extracted data versus TOVA output showed 95% concordance. Interrater reliability testing gave κ statistics of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89–0.99), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94–0.98), 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92–0.98), and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90–0.98) for acuity numerators, denominators, adjustments, and signs, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.983. Linear regression showed an R(2) of 0.966 (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The total visual acuity extraction algorithm is a novel tool for extraction of visual acuity from free text, unstructured clinical notes and provides an open source method of data extraction. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: Automated visual acuity extraction through natural language processing can be a valuable tool for data extraction from free text ophthalmology notes.