A reasoning module for distributed clinical decision support systems

Abstract

One of the main challenges in distributed clinical decision support systems is to ensure that the flow of information is kept. The failure of one or more components should not bring down an entire system. Moreover, it should not impair any decision processes that are taking place in a functioning component. This work describes a decision module that is capable of managing states of incomplete information which result from the failure of communication between components or delays in making the information available. The framework is also capable of generating scenarios for situations in which there are information gaps. The proposal is described through an example about colon cancer staging.