FROM CHART TRACKING TO WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT

The current interest in system-wide integration appears to be based on the assumption that an organization, by digitizing information and ac cepting a common standard for the exchange of such information, will i mprove the accessibility of this information and automatically experie nce benefits resulting from its more productive use. We do not dispute this reasoning, but assert that an organization's capacity for effect ive change is proportional to the understanding of the current structu re among its personnel. Our workflow manager is based on the use of a Parameterized Petri Net (PPN) model which can be configured to represe nt an arbitrarily detailed picture of an organization. The PPN model c an be animated to observe the model organization in action, and the re sults of the animation analyzed. This simulation is a dynamic ongoing process which changes with the system and allows members of the organi zation to pose ''what if'' questions as a means of exploring opportuni ties for change. We present, the ''workflow management system'' as the natural successor to the tracking program, incorporating modeling, sc heduling, reactive planning, performance evaluation, and simulation. T his workflow management system is more than adequate for meeting the n eeds of a paper chart tracking system, and, as the patient record is c omputerized, will serve as a planning and evaluation tool in convertin g the paper-based health information system into a computer-based syst em.