PROCESS ORIENTED INFORMATION SYSTEMS ? A KEY TO EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE

The primary and basic component of healthcare is information. Being a healthcare practitioner involves using medical knowledge and patient information to deliver the best possible care. When decisions about the care of the patient are made they must as far as possible be based on research-derived evidence rather than on clinical skills and experience alone. This decision process is complex as evidence is infrequently available in a form that can be acted upon at the time decisions must be made. The aim of this paper is to present and illustrate how a prototype visualization of a process support system can support the availability of relevant medical knowledge in a way which seamlessly integrates with healthcare practitioners work practice, and thereby enables healthcare practitioners to work in accordance with EBM. An important conclusion from this research is that a process support as the one described in this paper can reshape the practice of EBM.