To be efficient and patient focused, healthcare units need to be process
oriented and integrated with the processes and IT systems of other healthcare
units. A process manager facilitates integration of different systems by using
graphical and executable process models. The process manager also communicates
directly with healthcare personnel via desktop computers and mobile devices.
This article reports on a Swedish project where a prototype system was developed
and tested with several healthcare units. The experience shows several
advantages and opportunities. For example, current information about patients
can be transferred automatically between healthcare units; resource intensive
manual tasks can be replaced with automated tasks; and long-term process
monitoring and quality assessment can be enabled. However, introducing a process
manager requires attention to issues of security, ethics and legality.
Healthcare units may also show differences in security awareness and IT
maturity, which could obstruct the introduction of a process manager.
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