Guideline validation in multiple trauma care through business process modeling.
Clinical guidelines can improve the quality of care in multiple trauma. In our Department of Trauma Surgery a specific guideline is available paper-based as a set of flowcharts. This format is appropriate for the use by experienced physicians but insufficient for electronic support of learning, workflow and process optimization. A formal and logically consistent version represented with a standardized meta-model is necessary for automatic processing. In our project we transferred the paper-based into an electronic format and analyzed the structure with respect to formal errors. Several errors were detected in 7 error categories. The errors were corrected to reach a formal and logically consistent process model. In a second step the clinical content of the guideline was revised interactively using a process modeling tool. Our study reveals that guideline development should be assisted by process modeling tools, which check the content in comparison to a meta-model. The meta-model itself could support the domain experts in formulating their knowledge systematically. To assure sustainability of guideline development a representation independent of specific applications or specific provider is necessary. Then clinical guidelines could be used for training, process optimization and workflow management additionally.
Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Essen, Hufelandstr, 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
Jürgen
J
Stausberg
Hüseyin
H
Bilir
Christian
C
Waydhas
Steffen
S
Ruchholz
D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic