An Approach to Retrieval of Narrative Text in Case Records: The Psychiatric Case History Event System (PsvCHES)

The Psychiatric Case History Event System (PsyCHES) is a generalized information processing system for conversion of case history data into computer-acceptable form for subsequent retrieval and analysis. Since its first reporting in 1964, the Psychiatric Case History Event System has been implemented on a large scale in a study of the decision making process in psychiatric diagnosis. The details of the processing of data from the point of transcription to computer output are presented in this paper. In so doing the logic of the system and the definition of its conceptual unit, the Event, are made evident. Also, the generality of the PsyCHES System for application in a wide variety of clinical and research endeavors involving narrative textual data is suggested.

PsyCHES ist ein generalisiertes Informations-Verarbeitungssystem für die Übertragung von anamnestischen Daten in computer-lesbare Form zum Zweck späterer Auswertung. Seit dem ersten Bericht im Jahre 1964 ist das System im Rahmen einer Studie über den Entscheidungsprozeß bei der psychiatrischen Diagnosestellung im Großen angelaufen. Die Einzelheiten der Datenverarbeitung — von der Übertragung der Informationen bis zum Computer-Ausdruck — werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit dargelegt. Hierdurch werden die Logik des Systems und die Definition seiner begrifflichen Einheit — des Ereignisses — deutlich gemacht. Auf die generelle Anwendbarkeit der System-Konzeption in einem weiten Bereich klinischer und wissenschaftlicher Vorhaben mit Klartextverarbeitung wird hingewiesen.

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