Mapping a high‐level overview of information flows in the Dutch declaration chain for medical specialist health care

Abstract

This study is based on Philippe van der Voorn’s master’s dissertation at the Utrecht University, Department of Science, Information and Computing Sciences. The problem identified was a lack of an integrated information chain and clear governance structure for information flow in the Netherlands’ health care sector. The method of Design Science was followed to construct an overview model of the chain, and towards a business process model that is intuitive for both technical and business users. An initial declaration chain was identified in the literature and presented, to be confirmed and elaborated on via eight interviews at seven different organisations in the medical specialist health care sector. Based on these interviews, the draft overview was adjusted and a Business Process Model and Notation model created that indicates the shared understanding of the data elements and activities between the organisations. The contribution of the overview of the declaration chain, in particular, can help medical specialist staff obtain an understanding of the administrative side of their work, and with a clear information infrastructure lead to better working processes and information quality.