An integrated approach to safety-driven and ICT-enabled process reengineering: methodological advice and a case study

Patient safety is a central concern inside any healthcare environment. With the progress of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), new solutions have become available to support care and management processes. Analyzing process risks helps identifying areas of improvement and provides ICT-solutions design with indications on what portions of the process need primary interventions. Understanding the link between process reengineering, technology assessment of enabling technologies and risk management allows user acceptance and patient safety improvements. Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT), offers a good example of process reengineering driven by the purpose of increasing patient safety, enabled by new technologies. A pillar of the evolution of ICT process support at INT is based on Radio Frequency Identification technologies, implemented to identify and trace items and people across processes. This paper will present an integrated approach, based on process reengineering methodologies and risk assessment studies, and methodological advice applied to a case of surgical kits management procedures.