Intention-based critiquing of guideline-oriented medical care.

We present a methodology and tool for providing retrospective review and critiquing of guideline-based medical care given to patients. We show how our guideline representation language, Asbru, which supports the use of physicians intentions in addition to physician's actions, allows us to compare the care given to a patient at the level of the intention to treat in addition to the more detailed plan carried out. We have developed an algorithm based on this representation for retrospective quality assessment of guideline-based care. Our method takes the physician's and institution's preferences and policies into account in explaining or justifying physician deviations from the recommendations of a guideline.