Exploring the full potential of the electronic health record: the application of natural language processing for clinical practice

The electronic health record (EHR) contains valuable patient data and offers opportunities to administer and analyse patients’ individual needs longitudinally. However, most information in the EHR is currently stored in unstructured text notations. Natural language processing (NLP), a branch of artificial intelligence that enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language, can be used to delve into unstructured text data to uncover valuable insights and knowledge. This article discusses different types of NLP, the potential of NLP for cardiovascular nursing, and how to get started with NLP as a clinician.