Experimental application of Business Process Management technology to manage clinical pathways: a pediatric kidney transplantation follow up case

Abstract

BackgroundTo test the application of Business Process Management technology to manage clinical pathways, using a pediatric kidney transplantation as case study, and to identify the benefits obtained from using this technology.MethodsUsing a Business Process Management platform, we implemented a specific application to manage the clinical pathway of pediatric patients, and monitored the activities of the coordinator in charge of the case management during a 6-month period (from June 2015 to November 2015) using two methodologies: the traditional procedure and the one under study.ResultsThe application helped physicians and nurses to optimize the amount of time and resources devoted to management purposes. In particular, time reduction was close to 60%. In addition, the reduction of data duplication, the integrated event management and the efficient data collection improved the quality of the service.ConclusionsThe use of Business Process Management technology, usually related to well-defined processes with high management costs, is an established procedure in multiple environments; its use in healthcare, however, is innovative. The use of already accepted clinical pathways is known to improve outcomes. The combination of these two techniques, well established in their respective areas of application, could represent a revolution in clinical pathway management. The study has demonstrated that the use of this technology in a clinical environment, using a proper architecture and identifying a well-defined process, leads to real benefits in terms of resources optimization and quality improvement.

The knowledge and process continuum

“…Other articles propose specific frameworks (Deokar & El‐Gayar, ; Sallos et al, ), models (Kristekova, Jurisch, Schermann, & Krcmar, ; Yu & Zhou, ), or methods (Silva & Rosemann, ; Ranjbarfard et al, ). Few papers analyze the specific aspects of the BPM and KM interrelations (Mahmoodzadeh, Jalalinia, & Yazdi, ; Fleischmann, & Stary, ; Han et al, ; Andellini et al, ). And only three of the analyzed articles look at the BPM and KM integration from the general perspective: from the maturity models perspective (Jochem, Geers, & Heinze, ; Maier & Schmidt, ) and from the perspective of the role of individual KM engagement in the innovative processes of KIOs (Butt et al, ).…”

A Process-Centered Approach to the Description of Clinical Pathways—Forms and Determinants

“…This paper contributes to the literature on the adoption of business process management (BPM) in healthcare organizations. As noted by González Sánchez et al [16], while BPM in healthcare has only been used in the last two decades, it has been proven, however, that “this structured approach to clinical work can lead to relevant cost reductions and better outcomes, but most of all, can provide leverage for clinical process control, as well as the possibility to study the gaps between standard protocols and specific clinical complexities” [17]. For example, the study of the use of BPM in the management of kidney transplantation provided genuine benefits in terms of resources optimization and quality improvement.…”

“…This study also proved that there was a reduction of human errors due to the automatic management of admission appointments and the associated protocols and automatic e-mail planning for the nurses. This means that the quality of data and the reliability of the pathway planning have been improved [17,18].…”

Mudança do modelo de gestão num serviço de especialidade de um hospital universitário terciário

“…Nos serviços de saúde há uma preocupação em diminuir custos sem reduzir a qualidade no atendimento ao paciente (ANDELLINI et al, 2017). A gestão por processos, quando promovida no setor de saúde, tem como foco garantir a segurança do paciente e a qualidade da assistência (DEMARCHI, 2012).…”

“…Alguns dos principais objetivos do setor de saúde nos últimos anos tem sido a busca pela otimização na utilização de recursos e a melhoria da eficiência e da qualidade (ANDELLINI et al, 2017). O Banco Mundial aponta que alguns dos principais desafios para o aperfeiçoamento do SUS são ampliar o acesso aos cuidados de saúde e melhorar a eficiência e a qualidade dos serviços de saúde.…”