Clincal Query Lab is a modern framework for defining and engineering clinical logic, algorithms, pathways, and guidelines. It combines a series of UI based tools with a programmatic SDK.
A primary purpose of CQLab is to facilitate the seamless collaboration between clinical domain experts and software engineering teams. This is accomplished by providing tools that are built with the expertise, perspectives, needs, and strengths of both groups in mind.
CQLab has been used to create semi/fully computable prior-authorization rules, clinical pathway recommendations, quality measurement calculations, clinical trial matching queries, clinical decision trees, clinical administrative forms, and more. It can be used to build administrative, physician, or patient facing applications.
From a high level perspective, CQLab is separated into a 1) definition layer and 2) a implementation layer. The definition layer is where clinical pathways, rules, recommendations, actions, documentation, and inclusion/exclusion criteria are defined. The implementation layer is where an engineering team turns these specifications into software that meets the unique needs of an organization's technical architecture.
The definition layer is a UI based tool that provides a way to define clinical logic and algorithms in a no-code user friendly interface. It is generally used by physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinical domain experts that may not have a deep software engineering background.
The implementation layer allows engineering teams to consume these definitions and turn them into production grade software. Engineers write code that queries databases, runs AI/ML models, interacts with FHIR servers or EHRs, emits messages and events, and more.
An example can be worth a thousand words, so let's check out the Introductory Example to get a more hands on feel for how CQLab can be used to make a clinical recommendation.