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The unified modelling language (UML) comprises a set of tools for documenting the analysis of a system. Although UML is generally used to describe and evaluate the functioning of complex systems, the extent of its application to the health care domain is unknown. The purpose of this article is to survey the literature on the application of UML tools to the analysis and modelling of health care systems. We first introduce four of the most common UML diagrammatic tools, namely use case, activity, state, and class diagrams. We use a simplified surgical care service as an example to illustrate the concepts and notation of each diagrammatic tool. We then present the results of the literature survey on the application of UML tools in health care. The survey revealed that although UML tools have been employed in modelling different aspects of health care systems, there is little systematic evidence of the benefits.

Abstract: Stroke illness is a common problem in the UK. Factors such as incidence, age, and ethnicity have already been shown to affect admission patterns and discharge outcomes. Our analysis of an English Hospital Episode Statistics database shows that weekends and public holidays also influence the admission and discharge patterns of elderly stroke patients. We discuss the possible reasons for this.