Analyzing medical processes

This paper shows how software engineering technologies used to define and analyze complex software systems can also be effective in detecting defects in human-intensive processes used to administer healthcare. The work described here builds upon earlier work demonstrating that healthcare processes can be defined precisely. This paper describes how finite-state verification can be used to help find defects in such processes as well as find errors in the process definitions and property specifications. The paper includes a detailed example, based upon a real-world process for transfusing blood, where the process defects that were found led to improvements in the process. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.4 [Software Engineering]: Software/Program Verification; J.3 [Life and Medical Sciences]: Health Keywords finite-state verification, model checking, medical processes, property specifications

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ICSE
• Authors: Bin Chen, George S. Avrunin, Elizabeth A. Henneman, Lori A. Clarke, Leon J. Osterweil, Philip L. Henneman
• Keywords: Healthcare Processes, ICSE 2008, Keywords Finite-state Verification, Medical Processes, Software Engineering