FROM MEDICAL PROCESSES TO WORKFLOWS - Modeling of Clinical Pathways with the Unified Modeling Language

Abstract

Clinical pathways describe treatment processes within a hospital. They can be used as process models, which can be controlled by implemented workflow models in information systems. This enables (semi-) automated processes, and they are therefore high potential for an improved quality management and seamless IT support. Surprisingly, there are no published process models that describe the implementation of clinical pathways in an information system while taking into account the characteristics of health care specifics. We bridge this gap by proposing a process model using UML as modeling language.