Cross-enterprise TeleHome Monitoring Workflow Definition

This supplement is written according to the specific template defined for Workflow Definition profiles. The structure of this document differs from a PCC Content Profile. In particular the XTHM-WD Profile establishes a common set of rules to share between participants involved in a telemonitoring workflow. The telemonitoring process, and workflow related to it, is applicable to many different sharing infrastructures. In this profile we present a specific XDS based use-case.

Summary

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Benefits

The workflow related to the management of patients with chronic diseases (e.g., heart failure, COPD, diabetes) followed by a telemonitoring service is a cross-enterprise workflow since many different individuals from different enterprises can be involved: specialists and physicians, working in hospitals, rural areas or urban areas, general practitioners (GP), and general caregivers, as well as the telemonitoring centre’s staff.

For the correct management of these patients, each of these individuals, managing his part of the telemonitoring workflow, should have also the possibility to share and manage the patient’s complete clinical history. However, at the moment there are no technical specifications allowing this to be done in a standardized manner.

This profile provides guidelines to define this kind of cross-enterprise workflow using the XDW profile, allowing every participant involved in a patient's care to share the complete telemonitoring workflow, including all related documents produced for each event occurring during the process (data sending, request for a visit, change of therapy), and the related workflow status.

This proposal focuses on the Cross Enterprise TeleHomeMonitoring Workflow Definition in support of telemonitoring workflow document and status management.

The key elements are:

• managing telemonitoring cross-enterprise workflow, tracking all events and related documents;
• managing workflow specific status with relationship to one or more documents;
• tracking status of all events in telemonitoring process (in progress, completed, etc.).

With the increase in the elderly population and the consequent increase in the prevalence of patients with chronic diseases (as diabetes, chronic heart failure and COPD), the introduction of a telemonitoring service for these patients, with good workflow management, as defined in this profile, would entail a considerable advantage in terms of quality of life for patients and cost savings.

To demonstrate the scale of the problem, an analysis has been performed on some European data about the most relevant chronic diseases: now COPD affects approximately 44 million people (Eur Respir J 2011); heart failure affects about 15 million people (ESC 2008). The introduction of a telemonitoring service for these patients, with good workflow management, as defined in this profile, would entail a considerable advantage in terms of quality of life for patients and cost savings.

Details

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Systems Affected

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Actors & Transactions:

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Specification

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Documents:

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Underlying Standards:

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See Also

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Related Profiles

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Consumer Information

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Implementer Information

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Reference Articles

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