Computer-interpretable guidelines (CIGs) are more likely to affect the clinician's behavior when they deliver patient-specific and just-in-time clinical advice. CIGs must take into account the data stored in the patient's electronic medical records (EMR). For chronic diseases, the outcome of past and ongoing treatments (therapeutic history) is used in the clinical guidelines. We propose a model for the conceptualization of therapeutic history, facilitating data sharing between EMRs and CIGs and the representation of therapeutic history and recommended treatments in clinical guidelines.

Based on medical literature review and an existing treatment model, a core structure is first defined taking into account drug and non-drug treatment components and treatment type (e.g. bitherapy). These elements together with additional concepts obtained by analyzing a sample guideline relating to diabetes, are then organized into an object-oriented model, using UML formalism.

We show how this model can be used to store the patient's therapeutic history in the EMR, together with other attributes such as treatment efficacy and tolerance. We also explain how this model can efficiently code guidelines therapeutic rules.

We evaluated this model, using additional guidelines hypercholesterolemia and asthma. We found it capable for representing guideline recommendations in several domains of chronic diseases.