Data driven process modelling for a hospital emergency department

Abstract

This paper describes how key activities in the emergency department of a major hospital were extracted from workflow history. Analysis of these activities help with modification of both administrative and clinical actions for improved efficiency and effectiveness. Extraction of process from data is a relatively new field. This paper’s contributes the innovative determination of processes through data mining, rather than the algorithm-driven approach used to date. Data about patients who present to a major hospital emergency department were used to define clusters of patients who follow common pathways through the emergency department. It is discussed how these “process based” clusters can be used for performance management of the emergency department through evaluation of process inputs, outputs and costs.