Clinical decision support systems prove particularly useful for six specific medical conditions, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
The researchers — led by Dr. Julian Varghese, a medical informatics researcher at the University of Münster in Germany — conducted a systematic review of 70 recent studies assessing CDS systems alongside patient outcomes in the inpatient setting. To classify the clinical impact of the systems, two physicians independently evaluated patient outcome effects for each study.
Seven percent of the studies analyzed by researchers reported reduced mortality and 23 percent reported a reduction in life-threatening events. Twenty-nine percent of studies indicated CDS systems had no significant impact on patient outcomes, while one study showed a negative effect.
Of the 24 medical conditions included in the systematic review, six stood out as having particularly improved clinical outcomes with CDS.
1. Blood glucose management
2. Blood transfusion management
3. Physiologic deterioration prevention
4. Pressure ulcer prevention
5. Acute kidney injury prevention
6. Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis
"Most of the included [clinical decision support systems] were associated with positive patient outcomes effects but with substantial differences regarding the clinical impact," the study authors concluded.