Effects of Computerized Clinical Decision Support Systems on Practitioner Performance and Patient Outcomes

COMPUTERIZED CLINICAL DECIs ion suppor t sys t ems (CDSSs) are information systems designed to improve clinical decision making. Characteristics of individual patients are matched to a computerized knowledge base, and software algorithms generate patientspecific recommendations. Practitioners, health care staff, or patients can manually enter patient characteristics into the computer system; alternatively, electronic medical records can be queried for retrieval of patient characteristics. Computer-generated recommendations are delivered to the clinician through the electronic medical record, by pager, or through printouts placed in a patient’s paper chart. Such systems have been developed for a myriad of clinical issues, including diagnosis of chest pain, treatment of infertility, and timely administration of immunizations. These systems provide several modes of decision support, including alerts of critical val-