Robust design of web services supporting the home administration of drug infusion in pediatric oncology

Abstract

Cancer home care is a sector of particular relevance for the Italian health service. The budget ceilings imposed by public finance pose the need to reduce hospitalisation costs, moving patients from treatment to home care as much as possible. This is especially true in the field of pediatric oncology, where a protected family environment offers a variety of benefits to young patients and their families. However, in order to guarantee adequate assistance services, an integrated information system for management must be devised as the center of gravity of a coordinated network of, even heterogeneous, actors. This paper focuses on the identification and evolving development of web services for regulation and control of home administration of drug infusion in pediatric oncology. The Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) remains the software architecture of reference, where as the methodological approach is open to a reconsideration of the continuous improvement of the whole process in light of the ceaseless progress of medical science and information technology. In this paper, his goal is achieved by using a methodological design approach that combines the UML modeling based on Case Stories and the process optimization of Axiomatic Design. Case Stories allow the formalization of end users' requirements in UML language, easily interpreted by software developers. On the other hand, Axiomatic Design allows optimizing the design process by identifying the most robust solutions in terms of greater logical coherence and lesser systemic complexity. We analyze a case study focused on the design of web services supporting the home administration of drug infusion, for young cancer patients in home care. Then, we show how the UML-modeling methodology can be used to design new services on the basis of specific Use Cases. Finally, through theAxiomatic design approach we verify the proposed solutions, by identifying the robust set of web services to be implemented.