Adaptive Case Management Systems Research Articles

Implementation of an Adaptive Case Management System Supporting the Incident Management Process in ABAP-Based SAP Systems

Adaptive Case Management (ACM) can be a viable option for supporting knowledge-intensive processes like the incident management process (IM) in IT service management. To this end, a concept for an Adaptive Case Management system (ACMS) able to support the incident management process according to ITIL was described by Meyer, Wittmann, et al. (2021). To prove the concept’s feasibility, a prototype based on SAP HANA and the SAP Solution Manager, which uses ticket text similarity determination to recommend existing tickets to incident processors and tracks incident processor activities in SAP ABAP-based systems through SAP UI Logging is implemented in the following. The prototype is then shown to five industry-pundits in scope of a case study to evaluate the built artifact. Furthermore, an evaluatory analysis from a descriptive and an architectural point of view is done. The evaluations’ results show, that while not constituting a complete, high-fidelity solution, the prototype displays great promise in increasing efficiency and effectiveness in the IM process.

A Concept for an Adaptive Case Management System Supporting the Incident Management Process

The incident management (IM) process in IT service management is commonly recognized as exhibiting knowledge-intensive traits. For better supporting processes with such attributes, the Adaptive Case Management (ACM) methodology has been proposed to remedy the shortcomings of traditional workflow-driven approaches in this regard. In the following, a concept for an ACM system (ACMS) capable of supporting the incident management process according the the ITIL best practice specification is devised. To this end, a literature review on challenges in the IM process is performed, followed by a mixed-method case study, which verifies the found challenges against those stated by IM field practitioners. Additionally, an analysis of the market for IM and ACM applications is done in order to see how these challenges are currently tackled. Based on these efforts and the works of Meyer et al. (2021), a concept for an ACMS alongside with a specialized case model is laid out with an exem-plary focus on the SAP Solution Manager as IM tool, which puts emphasis on taking into account user activities pertaining to an incident.

A Model for a Generic Adaptive Case Management Environment

The Adaptive Case Management (ACM) paradigm has been introduced to the scientific community as a means to better support knowledge-intensive processes and address the shortcomings of traditional WfMS in this area. To date, there have been a number of publications delineating the ACM methodology and what capabilities an ACM system should have, however, none have taken a holistic view of what an environment for ACM should look like. In the following, a model for a generic ACM environment, ACM framework, and application architecture is constructed. This is done by building on the results of a literature review on ACM and a multiple case study on the current state of IT support for knowledge work, which examines a knowledge-intensive process in a public and a private organization. Furthermore, a research agenda on future topics in the ACM field and a list of generic requirements an ACM system should fulfill, are given.

Information Support of Design Innovation Activity of the Technical University

Abstract The problem of adaptation of educational space of technical university to modern market requirements is considered. There are described the results of studying the requests of higher education applicants and their vision of the success of the study. The aim of the article is to build an architecture of an information system similar to that used by modern enterprises, which will provide a combination of scientific, design and educational activities of the academic community, taking into account market needs. The main scientific research methods are bibliographic analysis, comparative analysis, methods of analogies. The conceptual architecture of the Information Support of Design Innovation Activity of the Technical University system based on the construction of a unified scientific and educational information space is described. The main task of the university’s information space is to prepare students for activities of the real market. There are determined the necessity and limits of application of the modern access control system at the universities of Ukraine, in particular for the organization of independent work of students. There is offered the way to reach the 4th level of technological readiness of students ‘and teachers’ development. The construction of an ontological description of the subject area of a technical university, the development of the application of a grid model for the description of scientific and technical information, and the determination of the current technical status are defined as the basis of the system of setting tasks for project groups in the transition to project-oriented learning. The question of the appropriateness of using adaptive case management system as a basic concept of building electronic document management system is resolved. The use of the competence approach as a mechanism of stimulating technical creativity within the educational process and in the work of researchers from the University staff is considered.

Integrated Care for Complex Chronic Patients

Background: In 2006, 35% - 40% of the population in the EU aged > 65 years reported a longstanding health problem and one in four currently receives medical long-term treatment. In Catalonia, data from the 2011-2015 health plan reported that about 30% of the general population has at least one chronic disorder. It is widely accepted that this increasingly important group of the population may suffer frequent unexpected hospital admissions or emergency room visits because of clinical or social circumstances triggering adverse outcomes. Accordingly, the Complex Chronic Patient (CCP) is defined as a patient with at least one+ chronic diseases, comorbidities, frail (due to social, economic and/or clinical factors), usually elderly, and who consumes a very high level of health resources. Although CCPs comprise about 5% of the general population, their health care needs consume an estimated 40% plus of all hospital admissions. Methods: CONNECARE (H2020-PHC-2015-689802) aims to develop and evaluate a new organizational model to enable integrated care of CCPs, supported by technological solutions following an adaptive case management approach. From the CCP’s perspective, different healthcare professionals are central to patients’ care: the general practitioners, specialist doctors, other hospital staff, and social workers. Moreover, the carers, unpaid relatives or friends, who typically deliver the majority of care that CCPs require, are indispensable. The CONNECARE integrated care organizational model will facilitate collaboration and communication among healthcare professionals, patients and their carers through integrated technological solutions in which the patients play a central role. CONNECARE will also support and empower patients for self-management, by providing them recommendations and suggestions according to continuous monitoring of their activities. CONNECARE will be deployed in three regions: Catalonia (Spain), Israel, and Groningen (the Netherlands). Results: The CONNECARE integrated care solution is built upon the experience of on-going large-scale deployment programs in each of the participating sites and the inclusion of the main stakeholders in the process (healthcare professionals, patients, carers, insurance companies, and policy makers). Therefore, a co-design methodology has been established to capture the feed-back of all actors in the integrated care process. Three clinical studies have been defined for field-testing the CONNECARE solution that will then be performed and evaluated (October 2016 to March 2019) in the three regions: community-based management of CCP, and integrated management of patients undergoing surgical procedures with a specific use case for pre-habilitation of high risk candidates for complex abdominal surgical procedures –which will only be performed and evaluated in Barcelona. The purposes of the clinical studies are: (i) assessing health value generation of the CONNECARE solution; (ii) enabling its refinement and fine tuning during the last six-month period; and (iii) generating guidelines for transferability of CONNECARE achievements to other sites. Conclusions: The ambition of CONNECARE is to co-design, develop, deploy, and evaluate a novel integrated care services model supported by a smart and adaptive case management system for better care coordination and self-management of CCPs. Pragmatic clinical trials will be held in the three sites to assess the health value generation of the CONNECARE solution. Guidelines for the transferability of CONNECARE achievements to other sites will be developed. This will save European healthcare organizations huge sums whilst improving patient outcomes.

An adaptive case management system to support integrated care services: Lessons learned from the NEXES project

BackgroundExtensive deployment and sustainability of integrated care services (ICS) constitute an unmet need to reduce the burden of chronic conditions. The European Union project NEXES (2008–2013) assessed the deployment of four ICS encompassing the spectrum of severity of chronic patients. ObjectiveThe current study aims to (i) describe the open source Adaptive Case Management (ACM) system (Linkcare®) developed to support the deployment of ICS at the level of healthcare district; (ii) to evaluate its performance; and, (iii) to identify key challenges for regional deployment of ICS. MethodsWe first defined a conceptual model for ICS management and execution composed of five main stages. We then specified an associated logical model considering the dynamic runtime of ACM. Finally, we implemented the four ICS as a physical model with an ICS editor to allow professionals (case managers) to play active roles in adapting the system to their needs. Instances of ICS were then run in Linkcare®. Four ICS provided a framework for evaluating the system: Wellness and Rehabilitation (W&R) (number of patients enrolled in the study (n)=173); Enhanced Care (EC) in frail chronic patients to prevent hospital admissions, (n=848); Home Hospitalization and Early Discharge (HH/ED) (n=2314); and, Support to remote diagnosis (Support) (n=7793). The method for assessment of telemedicine applications (MAST) was used for iterative evaluation. ResultsLinkcare® supports ACM with shared-care plans across healthcare tiers and offers integration with provider-specific electronic health records. Linkcare® successfully contributed to the deployment of the four ICS: W&R facilitated long-term sustainability of training effects (p<0.01) and active life style (p<0.03); EC showed significant positive outcomes (p<0.05); HH/ED reduced on average 5 in-hospital days per patient with a 30-d re-admission rate of 10%; and, Support, enhanced community-based quality forced spirometry testing (p<0.01). Key challenges for regional deployment of personalized care were identified. ConclusionsLinkcare® provided the required functionalities to support integrated care adopting an ACM model, and it showed adaptive potential for its implementation in different health scenarios. The research generated strategies that contributed to face the challenges of the transition toward personalized medicine for chronic patients.