Knowledge representation issues in ontology-based clinical Knowledge Management systems

Knowledge Management in healthcare covers a number of diverse practice activity areas that range from admission and accounting to preventive health programmes. From among these areas, clinical knowledge management represents a specific category that poses differentiated problems and requires specific management support. Clinical knowledge as practiced today mixes formally assessed scientific knowledge with a person-culture in which the expertise of the clinician is the key element. When considering standard Knowledge Management life cycles, this entails that the required processes of creation, assessment and dissemination of clinical knowledge assets diverge from other kind of activities in how different kinds of knowledge are handled. Further, the Information Technology support required for clinical knowledge assets is complex and multi-perspective, thus requiring schemas that integrate formally gathered evidence and subjective practical knowledge. This paper