Computer-interpretable guidelines using GLIF with Windows workflow foundation

Abstract

Modern medicine is increasingly using evidence based medicine (EBM). EBM has become an integral part of medical training and ultimately on practice. Davis et al. [6] describe the “clinical care gap” where actual day-to-day clinical practice differs from EBC, leading to poor outcomes. This thesis researches the GLIF specification and implements the foundation for a GLIF based guideline system using Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0. There exists no public domain computer implementable guideline system. The guideline system developed allows a guideline implementer to create a guideline visually using certain medical related tasks, and to test and debug them before implementation. Chapter 5 of this thesis shows how to implement a guideline called Group A Streptococcal Disease Surveillance Protocol for Ontario Hospitals which is of fundamental importance for Ontario hospitals. The workflow approach allows developers to create custom tasks should the need arise. The Workflow Foundation provides a powerful set of base classes to implement clinical guidelines.