Model-based Integration of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Clinical Pathways

Healthcare providers are facing an enormous cost pressure and a scarcity of resources, so that they need to realign in the tension between economic efficiency and demand-oriented healthcare. Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) and clinical pathways have been established to improve the quality of care and to reduce costs at the same time. CPGs have a positive impact on the health outcome. However, their influence on the clinical routine is still very low due to their narrative and non-formalized form. This paper presents a model-based approach, how CPGs can be operationalized by transforming the CPGs in clinical pathways and therefore translate the abstract recommendations in concrete process flows. A metamodel will be developed to represent guidelinecompliant pathways and to support the users in the derivation process by information technology.