Health continuum of care informatics knowledgebase framework

All systems including health systems may be described in terms of processes that convert inputs to valued outputs. ´Management processes´ set the strategy for ´demand/supply processes´ which address health priority needs for quality of care services delivered via ´implementation processes´. These systems are very complex. Management processes involve many different perspectives, dimensions, objectives and systems, each with many states. Demand/supply processes involve numerous types of event chains, value streams and pathways of variable maturity, also with many states. Implementation processes involve several types of pathway flows, and interdependencies leading to decision tradeoffs. Taken together, these process variables and their states pose several billion process interaction options. This complexity complicates decision-making for optimizing health care benefits. A transparent common framework architecture has been developed within which all of these processes and their attributes and states many be inter-related and transparently navigated. It provides the ability to develop a common process knowledge base for understanding individual process events, pathway workflows, information flows, and value flows. It also facilitates assessment of key process interdependency tradeoffs that are required for business intelligence and informed management decision-making. A description of the framework, process operands and states is provided. An example illustrates an example of types of physiological/social tradeoffs for guiding breast cancer treatment options. A second example provides a navigation thread for prevention treatments such as vitamin D and related implications for adjustment of prevention, screening and diagnostic protocols.