We have presented an approach to ensuring pathways client data validity and improving the design of associated health information infrastructure for community-based coordination of care. Beyond making explicit the aspects in which data quality can fall short, the approach has been shown to inform the design of decision support systems for community health workers and other participants in the Pathways Community HUB. We exploited the existence of pathways structures to organize the data using formal systems concepts to develop an approach that is both well-defined and applicable to support general standards for certification of such organizations. The presentation showed that pathways structures are an important principle not only for organizing the activities of coordination of care but also for structuring the data stored in electronic health records in the conduct of such care. We also showed how it encourages design of effective decision support systems for coordinated care and suggested how interested organizations can set about acquiring such systems.

Chapter Contents:

• 8.1 Introduction
• 8.2 Requirements for pathways-based web portal
• 8.3 Temporal requirements
• 8.4 Implementation approaches
• 8.5 Ontology to include care coordination in UMLS
• 8.6 Implications for EHR systems and care coordination in general
• 8.7 Conclusions and recommendations
• References

Inspec keywords: health care; medical information systems; decision support systems; data structures

Other keywords: pathways-based care; health information technology support; health information infrastructure design; pathway structures; pathways client data validity; data quality; community health workers; pathways community HUB; community-based coordination; decision support systems; data structure; formal system concepts

Subjects: File organisation; Decision support systems; Medical administration