A framework for next generation e-health systems and services

We propose a framework for the development of next generation e-health systems and services. It results from the joint work of diverse research groups with 20 to 25 years of experience in their respective fields (e.g., business process management, medical informatics, business intelligence), and it articulates five elements: the mining of care workflows; their compliance with medical guidelines; their execution in a specialized engine capable of dealing with the inherent variability that exists in healthcare processes; the use of business intelligence techniques; and the integration with communities of practice that are key for the evolution of socio-technical systems. For each area, we describe its context and objectives, the stateof-the-art and challenges, leading up to the proposed innovation and its implications. The framework demonstrates how multidisciplinary research can enable a reinforcement of leadership in healthcare by supporting novel medical care with more predictive, individualized, effective, and safer solutions.