Health One Global automates the management of care pathways in its electronic healthcare record.
A care pathway “is a complex intervention for the mutual decision-making and organization of care processes for a well-defined group of patients during a well-defined period. […] The aim of a care pathway is to enhance the quality of care across the continuum by improving risk-adjusted patient outcomes, promoting patient safety, increasing patient satisfaction, and optimizing the use of resources.” (*)
Care pathways are typically created for provider use. Care pathways for providers can however be complemented by “patient facing” care pathways, sets of recommendations which empower patients in conjunction with their care team. For instance, a patient facing care pathway can define the sequence of tests and examinations which are required for ensuring an optimal follow up for patients currently treated for diabetes. Ideally, patients should receive information about the sequence and reminders for each of the tests in due course.
HEALTH One Global has developed a software tool which automates the management of such care pathways based on the contents of the electronic healthcare record. This management is based on a generic modelling of the care pathway parameters (trigger, components, timing, conditions, warnings, repetition) and a generic method to customize instances of care pathways on the basis of appropriate clinical guidelines. Thus, if a diagnosis of diabetes is entered in the patient record, the HEALTHone care pathway manager will automatically create an action plan for the various tests and examinations required by the care pathway, and will issue reminders for each of those at the requested time intervals.
This new feature will enable the development by our partners of action plans and reminders directly managed in the personal record mobile applications.
(*) Vanhaecht K, De Witte K, Sermeus W. The impact of clinical pathways on the organization of care processes. PhD dissertation, Belgium: KU Leuven; 2007.
