Approaches and Tools to Optimize and Manage Clinical Processes

Abstract

There are several continuing challenges within the health-care domain. On the one hand, there is a greater need for individualized, patient-oriented processes in diagnostics, therapy, nursing, and administration; and on the other hand, hospitals have extremely distributed decision processes and strong local (individual) autonomy with a high degree of situational dynamics. This research focuses on how to optimize processes in hospitals by using agent-based simulation and agent-based information systems that can substantially increase the efficiency of hospital process management. In particular, we describe a methodology for optimization; the ingredients of the simulation and the architecture of a management system; and the integration of existing FIPA, DICOM, and HL7 standards. We discuss example scenarios to show how simulation can improve distributed scheduling and how agent-based systems can be used to manage “clinical trials.” This research is part of the German Priority Research Program (SPP) 1083 “Intelligent Agents and their application in business scenarios.”