Knowledge representation issues in ontology-based clinical Knowledge Management systems

Abstract

Clinical Knowledge-Management (KM) represents a specific category of KM that requires specific support. Clinical knowledge mixes formal scientific knowledge with a person-culture in which the expertise of clinicians is key. In KM life-cycles, this entails that the required processes associated to clinical knowledge diverge from other kind of activities. Further, the technological support required for clinical knowledge assets is multi-perspective. This paper deals with those differences from the viewpoint of formal ontology. An epistemological account of such knowledge is provided. Then, problems of claim evaluation and representation are approached from it, resulting in a realistic set of design guidelines for clinical KM prepared for ontology-based systems.