Research Challenges for Achieving Healthcare Business Process Interoperability

E-Health systems' interoperability constitutes one of the main challenges of the IT society. E-Health interoperability will not occur without a shared policy and a process framework that will support appropriate business collaboration models and provide a sustainable environment in which interoperable solutions can be created, deployed, and managed. Coordinated business interactions require a common understanding of business function even though alternative delivery mechanisms and channels may be employed. In the healthcare context, a patient visits various organizations or units within organizations to get proper treatment. The role of "healthcare workflow-management by use of IT" is to adjust the contributions of those organizations or units in terms of effective service provision, appropriate timing, and best quality. Workflow management technology can play an important role, for it helps to organize, automate and improve business processes. Supporting clinical processes with information technology requires workflow specification (i.e., the identification of tasks, procedural steps, input and output information, people and departments involved, and the management of information flow according to this specification).