Abstracting the patient therapeutic history through a heuristic-based qualitative handling of temporal indeterminacy

Abstract

Applying a guideline-based therapeutic strategy in the context of a chronic disease requires the decision maker, physician or system, to have a clear picture, at the appropriate level of abstraction, of a patient's particular therapeutic history. However, like most clinical data, information on past treatments is subject to temporal indeterminacy.We propose temporal abstraction mechanisms based on a simple qualitative and heuristic treatment of temporal indeterminacy on period bounds. Allen's intervals are extended to unknown bounds, then the conditions for continuity and simultaneousness are analysed. The aim is to restore a patient's therapeutic history, in the case of chronic diseases, to position her within guideline therapeutic recommendations. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.