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The networks from medical knowledge and clinical practice have small-world, scale-free, and hierarchical features

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  • Tachimori, Yutaka
  • Iwanaga, Hiroaki
  • Tahara, Takashi

Abstract

Here, we constructed and analyzed a network (henceforth, “medical knowledge network”) derived from a commonly used medical text. We show that this medical knowledge network has small-world, scale-free, and hierarchical features. We then constructed a network from data from a hospital information system that reflected actual clinical practice and found that this network also had small-world, scale-free, and hierarchical features. Moreover, we found that both the diagnosis frequency distribution of the hospital network and the diagnosis degree distribution of the medical knowledge network obeyed a similar power law. These findings suggest that the structure of clinical practice may emerge from the mutual influence of medical knowledge and clinical practice, and that the analysis of a medical knowledge network may facilitate the investigation of the characteristics of medical practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Tachimori, Yutaka & Iwanaga, Hiroaki & Tahara, Takashi, 2013. "The networks from medical knowledge and clinical practice have small-world, scale-free, and hierarchical features," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 392(23), pages 6084-6089.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:392:y:2013:i:23:p:6084-6089
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2013.07.047
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    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Jingchi & Zheng, Jichuan & Zhao, Chao & Su, Jia & Guan, Yi & Yu, Qiubin, 2016. "Clinical-decision support based on medical literature: A complex network approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 459(C), pages 42-54.
    2. Samuel Zanferdini Oliva & Livia Oliveira-Ciabati & Denise Gazotto Dezembro & Mário Sérgio Adolfi Júnior & Maísa Carvalho Silva & Hugo Cesar Pessotti & Juliana Tarossi Pollettini, 2021. "Text structuring methods based on complex network: a systematic review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1471-1493, February.

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