#entarch to help #healthcare

The huge cost of failed healthcare projects confirm that the problem is systemic. To solve it let us expand the scope to the whole healthcare eco-system. Without doubts, each healthcare organisation within the eco-system has its unique business processes, but those processes are “constructed” from typical business working practices. The latter can be common for any sector as well as specific for the healthcare sector. Thanks to BPM, these working practices can be formalised as actionable (e.g. in BPMN) process fragments.

So, instead of spending money to implement unique business system for each healthcare organisation, let us consider a common platform, which allows to easy implementing unique business processes from a coherent set of world-class working practices and deploy this platform into each healthcare organisation.

Healthcare reference model

To have such common platform, a healthcare reference model must be developed and accepted. For example, it can be based on the synergy between:

• knowledge management, 
• use of processes to better manage the Healthcare, and 
• existing achievements in the standardization of the interaction between medical applications, HL7.

Platform-based implementation architecture

A platform-based implementation architecture (http://improving-bpm-systems.blogspot.ch/2011/04/enterprise-patterns-peas.html) is based on the following considerations:

• The platform must standardise and simplify core elements of future enterprise-wide system. For any elements outside the platform, new opportunities should be explored using agile principles. These twin approaches should be mutually reinforcing: the platform frees up resource to focus on new opportunities while successful agile innovations are rapidly scaled up when incorporated into the platform.
• An agile approach requires coordination at a system level.
• To minimise duplication of effort in solving the same problems, there needs to be system-wide transparency of agile initiatives.
• Existing elements of the platform also need periodic challenge. Transparency, publishing feedback and the results of experiments openly, will help to keep the pressure on the platform for continual improvement as well as short-term cost savings.

Forthcoming innovations faster

The platform will accelerate the implementation of following technology-enabled innovations.

##	Innovation	Technology-enabled techniques	Impact
1	Medical records are safely managed and properly share among the participants of the eco-system	Security is compared with private banks. Well-structured data. World-wide access for patient’s data.	Comprehensiveness of personal data. Anonymous by Owner data for analysis and consultations
2	A patient can visit a doctor remotely	Video conferencing.	Avoid hassle for trivial cases. Better traceability.
3	A patient can provide some simple “measurements” (pressure, temperature, sugar in blood) remotely	Smart devices and connectivity.	Systematic caring, faster alerting to prevent complex situations. Better traceability.
4	Best specialists can provide consultation to an anonymous patient and recommend him/her the best possible treatment	Video conferencing. World-wide access for patient’s data.	Improving the quality of treatment.
5	Patient is guided for home-based treatment	Predefined coordination and alerting (e.g. for taking pills). Systematic monitoring.	Better supervising
6	All participants of the health-care ecosystem are electronically interlinked: doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurances, government agencies	Secured exchange of data.	Higher quality of data. Less overhead.
7	Other social (from governmental agencies), scientific, professional (3rd party reviewing), and commercial (express delivery) services can be plugged-in	Standard interfaces for services in standard processes.	Cost management. Opportunities for small and local businesses.
8	The joint work of all participants is coordinated in a transparent and traceable manner.	Guaranteed audit trail. Guaranteed goal.	Early catching of problems. Continual improvement.

Advantages for everyone

The main participants in the whole healthcare eco-system and their concerns are listed below:

• Patients – hassle-free access to the healthcare services, correctness of treatment, maximum as possible treatment at home, cost.
• Doctors—zero routine work, access to the medical knowledge, access to medications, traceability.
• Other service providers – minimum overhead, common (with doctors) decision making.
• Insuring bodies – traceability, cost of overhead, correctness of treatment.
• Insurance companies – correctness of claims, correctness of treatment.
• Governments – overall quality, overall cost.
• Other services – easy to have business the main participants.

Some of those concerns will be address by mentioned above innovations.

Conclusion

#entarch can help #healthcare in the following way:

1. Define the right scope – the whole healthcare eco-system
2. Develop a healthcare reference model (#bizarch)
3. Architect a common implementation platform (#apparch)
4. Provide context for the HL7 data standardization work (#dataarch)
5. Provide context for infrastructure

The wide use of the same platform will allow Geographical expansion of services, the virtual doctor's office and unification of basic healthcare services.

Thanks,
AS