Clinical path modeling in XML for a web-based benchmark test system for medication

Many hospitals have introduced the Clinical Path (Path) to improve medical procedures. A Path is a way to manage care and check lists for a certain disease, providing a useful tool for hospital management. Paths can help hospitals reduce the duration of hospitalization and variations in care of patients while increasing hospital revenue. Nowadays, Paths are made by each hospital and there is no standard format. Benchmark testing between Paths used by different hospitals is important for evaluating medical practices, in order to develop and improve more effective practices. However, as the formats used in Paths are not standardized, benchmark testing of Paths is no easy task. To start benchmark testing of Paths, we compare medication in Paths and introduce description rules of medication in XML. Based on these, we developed a prototype system that enables us to compare the difference of medications in Paths prescribed between multiple of hospitals. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.