Temporal and Atemporal Provider Network Analysis in a Breast Cancer Cohort from an Academic Medical Center (USA)

Journal Title: Informatics - Year 2018, Vol 5, Issue 3

Abstract

Social network analysis (SNA) is a quantitative approach to study relationships between individuals. Current SNA methods use static models of organizations, which simplify network dynamics. To better represent the dynamic nature of clinical care, we developed a temporal social network analysis model to better represent care temporality. We applied our model to appointment data from a single institution for early stage breast cancer patients. Our cohort of 4082 patients were treated by 2190 providers. Providers had 54,695 unique relationships when calculated using our temporal method, compared to 249,075 when calculated using the atemporal method. We found that traditional atemporal approaches to network modeling overestimate the number of provider-provider relationships and underestimate common network measures such as care density within a network. Social network analysis, when modeled accurately, is a powerful tool for organizational research within the healthcare domain.

Authors and Affiliations

Bryan D. Steitz and Mia A. Levy

Keywords

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  • EP ID EP44149
  • DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics5030034
  • Views 261
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Bryan D. Steitz and Mia A. Levy (2018). Temporal and Atemporal Provider Network Analysis in a Breast Cancer Cohort from an Academic Medical Center (USA). Informatics, 5(3), -. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-44149