Improving clinical practice using clinical decision support systems: a systematic review of trials to identify features critical to success

• HIT Description: clinical decision support systems More info...
  
• Purpose of Study: identify features of clinical decision support systems critical for improving clinical practice
  
• Years of study: Not Available
  
• Study Design: systematic review
  
• Outcomes: impact on health care effectiveness and quality
  

• Settings: randomized controlled trials of electronic and non-electronic decision support systems published in Medline (1966-2003), CINAHL (1982-2003) and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (2003)
• Evaluation Method: 2 reviewers independently reviewed studies and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to select studies for review. They then identified 15 potentially important features of success and performed univariate and multivariate analyses to better define which features are important.
• Quality of Care and Patient Safety Outcome: The four features identified as independent predictors of decision support system effectiveness (electronic and non-electronic) were: the ability to automatically provide decision support as part of clinician workflow; providing decision support at the time and location of decision making; providing a recommendation rather than just an assessment; and, using a computer to generate the decision support.