The execution of a clinical trial is supported in the following manner. Patient model data is provided for modeling a patient-level workflow in the clinical trial in accordance with a trial protocol. Clinical data of patients participating in the clinical trial is accessed. Using a workflow engine, an instance of the patient-level workflow is instantiated for each of the patients to obtain a plurality of patient-level workflow instantiations. Each of the patient-level workflow instantiations is executed independently based on the clinical data of each respective one of the patients. The patient model data may comprise or be linked to a rule associated with a step of the patient-level workflow. The rule may be executed when the workflow engine reaches the step in one of the patient-level workflow instantiations. Accordingly, a virtual representation of the clinical trial on a patient-level is obtained which represents the actual state of the clinical trial yet which is computer-accessible. Having such a virtual representation of the clinical trial allows the clinical trial to be easily monitored, actively managed, etc., thereby facilitating its execution.